| 摘要 |
In the manufacture of integrated circuits, damage to transistors caused by ESD is customarily precluded by connecting the gates of the transistors, in an early stage, to a protection diode. If, for example during plasma etching or reactive ion etching, an electric charge is stored on a floating gate, this charge can be removed via the diode before electric breakdown occurs. In a first embodiment of a device in accordance with the invention, the diode is formed in an active region covered by an electrically insulating layer (12). The gate (8), or a poly track (9) connected thereto, projects above this layer and covers only a part of the active region. In the uncovered part of the active region, a cathode or anode is provided so as to be self-aligned relative to the poly track. In another embodiment, the poly track (9) is situated directly next to the region of the diode. The poly track (9) and the surface zone (10) of the protection diode are interconnected by an overlapping metal contact (15). The diode can be manufactured by means of the same process steps as those necessary to manufacture the transistor. In addition, the surface area occupied by the diode can be kept very small. |
