ESD protection circuit
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorYoung-chul Kim
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A data input/output protection circuit capable of consistent protection against high input voltage and ESD includes: a pull-up unit that clamps static electricity introduced through a pad transmitting an input signal and having a transistor connected between a source voltage and the pad; a pull-down unit that clamps the static electricity introduced through the pad and having a plurality of transistors connected between a ground voltage and the pad; and a pull-down controller connected to the pull-down unit, the pull-down controller activating the plurality of transistors included in the pull-down unit concurrently in response to a voltage variation caused by the introduced static electricity when the introduced static electricity is clamped through the pull-down unit.
Claims16
An ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection circuit comprising:
- a pull-up unit that clamps static electricity introduced through a pad transmitting an input signal, the pull-up unit having a transistor connected between a source voltage and the pad;
- a pull-down unit that clamps the static electricity introduced through the pad, the pull-down unit having a plurality of transistors connected between a ground voltage and the pad;
- and
- a pull-down controller connected to the pull-down unit, the pull-down controller activating the plurality of transistors comprising the pull-down unit concurrently in response to a voltage variation caused by the introduced static electricity when the introduced static electricity is clamped through the pull-down unit.
An ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection circuit comprising:
- a pull-up unit that clamps static electricity introduced through a pad transmitting an input signal and having a transistor connected between a source voltage and the pad;
- a pull-down unit that clamps the static electricity introduced through the pad and having a plurality of transistors connected between a ground voltage and the pad;
- a pull-down controller connected to the pull-down unit, the pull-down controller activating the plurality of transistors comprising the pull-down unit concurrently in response to a voltage variation caused by the introduced static electricity when the introduced static electricity is clamped through the pull-down unit;
- and
- a latch connected to the pull-down controller to ensure the plurality of transistors of the pull-down unit are activated when clamping the static electricity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.