SEMICONDUCTOR SWITCH ARRAY WITH ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE PROTECTION AND METHOD

摘要

A method of inhibiting electrostatic discharge damage to an array of semiconduct or switches (21) formed on a common substrate and arranged in rows and columns comprises the steps of: during formation of gate li nes (24) that interconnect one of the rows and columns of the array, connecting one end of each gate line directly to a shorting ring ( 52) and another end of each gate line to a shorting ring (56) via a protection element (54); during formation of the source lines (26) that in terconnect the other of the rows or columns of the array connecting one end of each source line directly to a shorting ring (56) and conn ecting another end of each source line to a shorting ring (56) via a protection element (58); and electrically coupling the shorting rings (52 56). A semiconductor switch array (21) incorporating electrostatic discharge protection (50) is also provided.