Electrostatic discharge protection solutions

An electrostatic discharge protection circuit coupled to an input/output pad that is coupled to a first terminal of a core circuit, the electrostatic discharge protection circuit comprising:

• a first anti-parallel diode pair including a first terminal coupled to the input/output pad and a second terminal;
• a second anti-parallel diode pair including a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the first anti-parallel diode pair and a second terminal coupled to a negative power supply voltage, the second anti-parallel diode pair coupled in series with the first anti-parallel diode pair at a node;
• and
• a second pad coupled to the node, the second pad configured to receive a first signal that is the same as a second signal that is received at the input/output pad, wherein the second pad is not coupled to the core circuit.