Method for discharging static electricity
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsWei-Min Wu, Ming-Dou Ker, Chun-Yu Lin, Li-Wei Chu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An integrated circuit includes a T-coil circuit, a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR), and a signal-loss prevention circuit. The T-coil circuit is coupled to an input/output (I/O) pad and an internal circuit. The SCR is coupled to the T-coil circuit and the internal circuit. The signal-loss prevention circuit is coupled to the T-coil circuit and the SCR. The signal-loss prevention circuit includes a resistor coupled to the T-coil circuit and the SCR. An electrostatic current flows through the resistor and turns on the SCR. The signal-loss prevention circuit may also include a diode circuit coupled to the T-coil circuit and the SCR. The diode circuit is configured to prevent signal loss.
Claims20
A method for discharging static electricity, the method comprising:
- providing a discharging current path from an input/output (I/O) pad to a ground via an inductor and a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR), to discharge static electricity at the I/O pad;
- and
- accelerating a turn-on speed of the SCR.
A method for discharging static electricity, the method comprising:
- providing a discharging current path from an input/output (I/O) pad to a ground via a T-coil circuit and a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) to discharge static electricity at the I/O pad;
- and
- preventing signal loss at the I/O pad when there is no static electricity at the I/O pad.
A method for discharging static electricity, the method comprising:
- providing a discharging current path from an input/output (I/O) pad to a ground via a T-coil circuit and a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR), to discharge static electricity at the I/O pad;
- and
- triggering the SCR, by the T-coil circuit, to discharge the static electricity at the I/O pad.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.