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US 10,475,783 B2Granted
Electrostatic discharge protection apparatuses
AssigneeNXP B.V.
InventorsJan Claes, Stephen John Sque, Maarten Jacobus Swanenberg, Da-Wei Lai
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various embodiments are directed to electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection apparatus comprising a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) having terminals, a field-effect transistor (FET) having terminals, and a common base region connected to a recombination region. The BJT and the FET are integrated with one another and include a common region that is shared by the BJT and the FET. The BJT and FET collectively bias the common base region and prevent triggering of the BJT by causing a potential of the common base region to follow a potential of one of the terminals of the BJT in response to an excessive but tolerable non-ESD voltage change at one or more of the terminals.
Claims20
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection apparatus comprising:
- a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) having terminals including an emitter, a base and a collector, the BJT being configured to provide ESD protection in response an ESD event;
- a field-effect transistor (FET) having terminals including a gate, a source and a drain;
- a common base region connected to a recombination region, the common base region including a base region of the BJT and a common well layer that is in contact with the base region of the BJT and the recombination region including a junction between a portion of the common base region and the drain of the FET;
- and
- wherein the BJT and the FET are integrated with one another and include a common region shared by each of the BJT and the FET, and are collectively configured to, in response to an excessive but tolerable non-ESD voltage change at one or more of the terminals, bias the common base region and prevent triggering of the BJT and respective ESD protection by activating the FET and flowing hole current to the recombination region, therein causing a potential of the common base region to follow a potential of one of the terminals of the BJT, wherein the excessive but tolerable non-ESD voltage change is greater than a voltage threshold, the voltage threshold being less than an ESD trigger voltage for triggering the ESD protection and within a normal-operation voltage range of the apparatus.
2 more elements
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection apparatus comprising:
- a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) having terminals including an emitter, a base and a collector, the BJT being configured to provide ESD protection in response an ESD event;
- a first field-effect transistor (FET) and a second FET, each of the first and second FETs having terminals including a gate, a source and a drain;
- and
- a common base region connected to a first recombination region and a second recombination region,
- wherein the BJT and the first FET are integrated with one another and include a first common region shared by each of the BJT and the first FET, and are collectively configured to bias the common base region to prevent triggering of the BJT by activating the first FET and flowing hole current to the first recombination region, thereby causing a potential of the common base region to follow a potential of one of the terminals of the BJT in response to an excessive but tolerable non-ESD voltage change of a first polarity at the terminal of the BJT;
- and
- wherein the BJT and the second FET are integrated with one another and include a second common region shared by each of the BJT and the second FET, and are collectively configured to bias the common base region to prevent triggering of the BJT by activating the second FET and flowing hole current to the second recombination region, thereby causing the potential of the common base region to follow a potential of another of the terminals of the BJT in response to another excessive but tolerable non-ESD voltage change, of an opposite polarity as the first polarity, at the terminal of the BJT, wherein the excessive but tolerable non-ESD voltage change is greater than a voltage threshold, the voltage threshold being less than an ESD trigger voltage for triggering the ESD protection and within a normal-operation voltage range of the apparatus.
4 more elements
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection apparatus comprising:
- a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) having terminals including an emitter, a base and a collector, the BJT being configured to provide ESD protection in response an ESD event;
- a first field-effect transistor (FET) having terminals including a gate, a source and a drain;
- a common base region connected to a first recombination region and including the base of the BJT;
- and
- a first lateral BJT having terminals including an emitter, a base and a collector, wherein the first recombination region is adjacent to one of the terminals of the first lateral BJT, and
- wherein the BJT, the first FET and the first lateral BJT are integrated with one another and include a first common region shared by the BJT, the first FET and the first lateral BJT, and are collectively configured to bias the common base region to prevent triggering of the BJT by activating the first FET and flowing hole current to the first recombination region, thereby causing a potential of the common base region to follow a potential of one of the terminals of the BJT in response to a first excessive but tolerable non-ESD voltage change of a first polarity at the terminal of the BJT, wherein the excessive but tolerable non-ESD voltage change is greater than a voltage threshold, the voltage threshold being less than an ESD trigger voltage for triggering the ESD protection and within a normal-operation voltage range of the apparatus.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.