Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit with disable feature based on hot-plug condition detection

An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, comprising:

• a first switch including a first current terminal, a second current terminal, and a control terminal, wherein the first current terminal of the first switch is adapted to be coupled to input terminals, and the second current terminal of the first switch is adapted to be coupled to a ground terminal of an integrated circuit (IC);
• a second switch including a first current terminal, a second current terminal, and a control terminal, wherein the first current terminal of the second switch is adapted to be coupled to the control terminal of the first switch, and the second current terminal of the second switch is adapted to be coupled to the ground terminal;
• and
• a control circuit adapted to be coupled to the control terminal of the first switch, the first current terminal of the second switch, and the control terminal of the second switch, the control circuit including:
• a first circuit configured to detect a first slew rate;
• a second circuit configured to detect a second slew rate;
• and
• a third circuit coupled to the first switch and the second switch.

A method of electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection comprising:

• determining, by a battery monitor of a system, an ESD event;
• in response to determining the ESD event, discharging, by the battery monitor, energy associated with the ESD event within the system and determining whether the discharging reaches a first time limit and a second time limit, wherein the first time limit is longer than the second time limit;
• determining, by the battery monitor, a hot-plug condition based on whether the discharging reaches one of the first time limit and the second time limit;
• and
• in response to determining the hot-plug condition, disabling, by the battery monitor, ESD protection.