Electrostatic discharge protecting circuit having a plurality of current paths in both directions
First Claim
1. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protecting circuit formed between an input/output (I/O) pad and an internal circuit of a semiconductor device, said ESD protecting circuit comprising:
- an N-well region formed on a semiconductor substrate;
a P-well region formed on said semiconductor substrate, being adjacent to said N-well region;
a first impurity region being in contact with both said P-well region and said N-well region;
a first transistor, one terminal of which is coupled to a first power supply and another of which is coupled to said I/O pad, for discharging an overcurrent from said I/O pad;
a second transistor, one terminal of which is coupled to a second power supply and another of which is coupled to said I/O pad;
a second impurity region formed on said P-well region to be electrically coupled to said first power supply, being coupled to one terminal of said first transistor;
a third impurity region formed on said N-well region to be electrically coupled to said second power supply, being coupled to one terminal of said second transistor;
a first insulating layer for isolating said first impurity region from said first transistor; and
a second insulating layer for isolating said first impurity region from said second transistor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protecting circuit for effectively discharging an overcurrent applied to a semiconductor circuit device, by providing a plurality of current paths. The ESD protecting circuit comprises a first discharging current path for discharging an overcurrent from the I/O pad to a first power supply, a second discharging current path for discharging the overcurrent from the I/O pad to a second power supply providing power for the internal circuit and a third discharging current path formed between the first power supply and the second power supply.
69 Citations
8 Claims
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1. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protecting circuit formed between an input/output (I/O) pad and an internal circuit of a semiconductor device, said ESD protecting circuit comprising:
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an N-well region formed on a semiconductor substrate; a P-well region formed on said semiconductor substrate, being adjacent to said N-well region; a first impurity region being in contact with both said P-well region and said N-well region; a first transistor, one terminal of which is coupled to a first power supply and another of which is coupled to said I/O pad, for discharging an overcurrent from said I/O pad; a second transistor, one terminal of which is coupled to a second power supply and another of which is coupled to said I/O pad; a second impurity region formed on said P-well region to be electrically coupled to said first power supply, being coupled to one terminal of said first transistor; a third impurity region formed on said N-well region to be electrically coupled to said second power supply, being coupled to one terminal of said second transistor; a first insulating layer for isolating said first impurity region from said first transistor; and a second insulating layer for isolating said first impurity region from said second transistor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protecting circuit formed between an input/output (I/O) pad and an internal circuit of a semiconductor device, said ESD protecting circuit comprising:
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an N-well region formed on a semiconductor substrate; a P-well region formed on said semiconductor substrate, being adjacent to said N-well region; a first impurity region being in contact with both said P-well region and said N-well region; a first transistor, one terminal of which is coupled to a first power supply and another of which is coupled to said I/O pad, for discharging an overcurrent from said I/O pad in response to a voltage applied to a gate electrode thereof; a second transistor, one terminal of which is coupled to a second power supply and another of which is coupled to said I/O pad, for discharging said overcurrent in response to a voltage applied to a gate electrode thereof; a second impurity region formed on said P-well region to be electrically coupled to said first power supply, being coupled to one terminal of said first transistor; and a third impurity region formed on said N-well region to be electrically coupled to said second power supply, being coupled to one terminal of said second transistor. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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Specification