Apparatus for ESD Protection
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsWun-Jie Lin, Bo-Ting Chen, Jen-Chou Tseng, Ming-Hsiang Song
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Abstract
A structure comprises an N+ region formed over a first fin of a substrate, a P+ region formed over a second fin of the substrate, wherein the P+ region and the N+ region form a diode, a shallow trench isolation region formed between the P+ region and the N+ region and a first epitaxial growth block region formed over the shallow trench isolation region and between the N+ region and the P+ region, wherein a forward bias current of the diode flows through a path underneath the shallow trench isolation region.
Claims20
A structure comprising:
- an N+ region formed over a first fin of a substrate;
- a P+ region formed over a second fin of the substrate, wherein the P+ region and the N+ region form a diode;
- a shallow trench isolation region formed between the P+ region and the N+ region;
- and
- a first epitaxial growth block region formed over the shallow trench isolation region and between the N+ region and the P+ region, wherein a forward bias current of the diode flows through a path underneath the shallow trench isolation region.
A system comprising:
- an integrated circuit comprising a first terminal coupled to a first voltage rail, a second terminal coupled to an input/output pad and a third terminal coupled to a second voltage rail;
- a first electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection diode coupled between the first voltage rail and the input/output pad, wherein the first ESD protection diode comprises:
- a first N+ region formed in an n-well of a substrate;
- a first P+ region formed in the n-well of the substrate;
- a first shallow trench isolation region formed between the first P+ region and the first N+ region;
- and
- a first epitaxial growth block region formed over the first shallow trench isolation region and between the first N+ region and the first P+ region;
- and
- a second ESD protection diode coupled between the second voltage rail and the input/output pad, wherein the second ESD protection diode comprises:
- a second N+ region formed in a p-well of the substrate;
- a second P+ region formed in the p-well of the substrate;
- a second shallow trench isolation region formed between the second P+ region and the second N+ region;
- and
- a second epitaxial growth block region formed between the second N+ region and the second P+ region.
A method comprising:
- forming an active region including a first fin and a second fin, wherein the first fin and the second fin are separated by a shallow trench isolation region;
- depositing an epitaxial growth block layer over the active region;
- patterning the epitaxial growth block layer to define a first growth area for an N+ region and a second growth area for a P+ region;
- removing portions of the active region in the first growth area and the second growth area;
- and
- growing the N+ region and the P+ region through an epitaxial growth process, wherein the N+ region and the P+ region form an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection diode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.