Electrostatic discharge protection device using semiconductor controlled rectifier

摘要

A novel electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device used for mixed voltage application is disclosed. Semiconductor-controlled rectifier (SCR) is utilized as the basic protection device for ESD current bypass. MOS transistors are stacked in a cascode configuration with at least two transistors to reduce the trigger voltage of the SCR for the mixed voltage modification. None of the voltage across any gate dielectric exceeds low supply level. The dielectric and hot carrier reliability of the MOS transistors can thus be ensured.