Compact, high performance, and robust RC triggered ESD clamp
AssigneeDialog Semiconductor (UK) Limited
InventorGaurav Singh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An object of the disclosure is to provide a compact RC triggered ESD clamp, which is used for fast ramp supplies, and is immune to parasitics, process, temperature variations, and a noisy environment. A further object of the disclosure is to provide an ESD clamp circuit with low power consumption, and which is robust against reliability or burnout failures. A further object of the disclosure is that the short time constant and the long time constant are realized using a single capacitor, charged by two separate resistors. Still further, another object of the disclosure is that the elements are connected in such a way that there are no additional active junctions connected to the charging node of the ESD clamp.
Claims26
An RC triggered ESD clamp circuit, comprising:
- a first and a second resistance, comprising:
- a first and a second gate controlled transistor,
- wherein said first resistance is configured to have a lower resistance value than said second resistance;
- a capacitor, wherein said first and said second resistances are configured to charge said capacitor at a charging node;
- a first, a second, a third, and a fourth inverter;
- a large FET device, configured to provide a dynamic feedback trigger signal for said ESD clamp circuit, wherein said dynamic feedback trigger signal is configured to charge said capacitor with said first resistance when said ESD clamp is off and to charge said capacitor with said second resistance when said ESD clamp is on;
- wherein said second, third, and fourth inverters are connected in series between said capacitor and said large FET device;
- and
- wherein said first resistance is configured to be controlled by said dynamic feedback trigger signal, and wherein said second resistance is configured to be controlled by said dynamic feedback signal through said first inverter.
A method for a compact RC triggered ESD clamp, comprising the steps of:
- providing an RC triggered ESD clamp, using a dynamic feedback trigger signal;
- charging a capacitor with a first resistance and a second resistance at a charging node, wherein said second resistance is higher than said first resistance;
- using said dynamic feedback trigger signal to charge said capacitor with said first resistance when said ESD clamp is off;
- and
- using said dynamic feedback trigger signal to charge said capacitor with said second resistance when said ESD clamp is on.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.