Protection circuit for semiconductor device
AssigneeNEC Corporation
InventorShigeru Tohyama
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a semiconductor device adapted to be driven while being cooled in operation and having one input/output terminal to which an element to be protected is connected, a protection circuit consists of a protection element electrically connected between the input/output terminal and a semiconductor substrate. This protection element has no polarity in a current-to-voltage characteristic but has a negative temperature coefficient of resistivity. The protection element exhibits a low resistance at a room temperature but becomes insulative or exhibits a high resistance at an operating temperature of the semiconductor device.
Claims8
A protection circuit for a semiconductor device adapted to be driven while being cooled by a cooling means, the semiconductor device having at least one input/output terminal to which an element to be protected is connected, the protection circuit consisting of a protection element means electrically connected between said at least one input/output terminal and one of a semiconductor substrate and a reference potential well region formed in said semiconductor substrate, said protection element means having no polarity in a current-to-voltage characteristic and having a negative temperature coefficient of resistivity, said protection element means exhibiting a low resistance at a room temperature and becoming insulative or exhibiting a high resistance at an operating temperature of the semiconductor device which is lower than said room temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.