Multi-channel homogenous path for enhanced mutual triggering of electrostatic discharge fingers

摘要

Mutual triggering of electrostatic discharge (ESD) fingers is improved by creating a base contact in each individual finger and connecting all of these base contacts in parallel. The local base contact in each ESD finger is located at a position where the base voltage significantly increases when the ESD current increases. Thus when an ESD finger is triggered its local base voltage will tend to significantly increase. Since all of the ESD finger bases are connected in parallel this local voltage increase will forward bias the base-emitter junctions of the other ESD fingers, thus triggering them all. By sharing the triggering current from the fastest ESD finger with the slower ones ensures that all ESD fingers are triggered during an ESD event.