Stacked clamps electrostatic discharge protection device
AssigneeSofics BVBA
InventorsSven Van Wijmeersch, Stefaan Verleye, Benjamin Ernest Henri Virginie Van Camp
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device including a stack of ESD clamps, a trigger circuit, and a transistor. The trigger circuit may respond to an ESD event by conducting current, which may cause the transistor to turn on. A combination of the trigger circuit conducting current and the transistor turning on may trigger the ESD clamps into a conducting state to shunt current from a first node to a second node.
Claims20
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device coupled between a first node and a second node, comprising:
- a first ESD clamp, a second ESD clamp, and a third ESD clamp, wherein an anode of the first ESD clamp is coupled to the first node, a cathode of the third ESD clamp is coupled to the second node, and the second ESD clamp is coupled between the first ESD clamp and the third ESD clamp;
- a first PMOS transistor, wherein a source of the first PMOS transistor is coupled to a trigger tap of the first ESD clamp and a drain of the first PMOS transistor is coupled to either a trigger tap of the second ESD clamp or a trigger tap of the third ESD clamp;
- a first resistor coupled to a gate of the first PMOS transistor;
- and
- a trigger circuit coupled between a gate of the first PMOS transistor and either the trigger tap of the third ESD clamp or the trigger tap of the second ESD clamp, wherein the trigger circuit is coupled to a different trigger tap than the drain of the first PMOS transistor, and wherein the trigger circuit is configured to conduct current in response to an ESD event.
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device coupled between a first node and a second node, comprising:
- a first ESD clamp, a second ESD clamp, and a third ESD clamp, wherein an anode of the first ESD clamp is coupled to the first node, a cathode of the third ESD clamp is coupled to the second node, and the second ESD clamp is coupled between the first ESD clamp and the third ESD clamp;
- a first PNP transistor, wherein an emitter of the first PNP transistor is coupled to a trigger tap of the first ESD clamp and a collector of the first PNP transistor is coupled to either a trigger tap of the second ESD clamp or a trigger tap of the third ESD clamp;
- and
- a trigger circuit coupled between a base of the first PNP transistor and either the trigger tap of the third ESD clamp or the trigger tap of the second ESD clamp, wherein the trigger circuit is coupled to a different trigger tap than the collector of the first PNP transistor, and wherein the trigger circuit is configured to conduct current in response to an ESD event.
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device coupled between a first node and a second node, comprising:
- a first ESD clamp, a second ESD clamp, and a third ESD clamp, wherein an anode of the first ESD clamp is coupled to the first node, a cathode of the third ESD clamp is coupled to the second node, and the second ESD clamp is coupled between the first ESD clamp and the third ESD clamp;
- a first NMOS transistor, wherein a source of the first NMOS transistor is coupled to a trigger tap of the third ESD clamp and a drain of the first NMOS transistor is coupled to either a trigger tap of the first ESD clamp or a trigger tap of the second ESD clamp;
- a first resistor coupled to a gate of the first NMOS transistor;
- and
- a trigger circuit coupled between a gate of the first NMOS transistor and either the trigger tap of the second ESD clamp or the trigger tap of the first ESD clamp, wherein the trigger circuit is coupled to a different trigger tap than the drain of the first NMOS transistor, and wherein the trigger circuit is configured to conduct current in response to an ESD event.
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device coupled between a first node and a second node, comprising:
- a first ESD clamp, a second ESD clamp, and a third ESD clamp, wherein an anode of the first ESD clamp is coupled to the first node, a cathode of the third ESD clamp is coupled to the second node, and the second ESD clamp is coupled between the first ESD clamp and the third ESD clamp;
- a first NPN transistor, wherein an emitter of the first NPN transistor is coupled to a trigger tap of the third ESD clamp and a collector of the first NPN transistor is coupled to either a trigger tap of the first ESD clamp or a trigger tap of the second ESD clamp;
- and
- a trigger circuit coupled between a base of the first NPN transistor and either the trigger tap of the second ESD clamp or the trigger tap of the first ESD clamp, wherein the trigger circuit is coupled to a different trigger tap than the collector of the first NPN transistor, and wherein the trigger circuit is configured to conduct current in response to an ESD event.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.