Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) with Lateral Gated Section

摘要

In an embodiment, an ESD protection circuit may include an STI-bound SCR and a gated SCR that may be electrically in parallel with the STI-bound SCR. The gated SCR may be perpendicular to the STI-bound SCR in a plane of the semiconductor substrate. In an embodiment, the gated SCR may trigger more quickly and turn on more quickly than the STI-bound SCR. The STI-bound SCR may form the main current path for an ESD event. A low capacitive load with rapid response to ESD events may thus be formed. In an embodiment, the anode of the two SCRs may be shared.

主权项

1. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit comprising:
a shallow trench isolation (STI)-bound silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) coupled between an input/output conductor and a voltage rail; and a gated SCR coupled between the input/output conductor and the voltage rail.