Electrostatic discharge circuit and method of dissipating an electrostatic current
First Claim
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1. An electrostatic discharge circuit comprising:
- a first well of a first conductivity type, connected to a first pad;
a second well of the first conductivity type, connected to a second pad;
a third well of a second conductivity type, connected to the first pad; and
a switching pathway of the first conductivity type in the third well, the switching pathway connecting the first well and the second well,wherein voltages applied to the first pad and the second pad are different from each other, andthe discharge circuit is configured to alternate a discharge of a current of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) event between a plurality of paths a plurality of times, the plurality of paths including the switching pathway.
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Abstract
An electrostatic discharge circuit between a first pad and a second pad including an electrostatic discharge circuit element, including a bipolar transistor path and a resistor path, the electrostatic discharge circuit element alternately discharging an electrostatic current through the bipolar transistor path and the resistor path.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electrostatic discharge circuit comprising:
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a first well of a first conductivity type, connected to a first pad; a second well of the first conductivity type, connected to a second pad; a third well of a second conductivity type, connected to the first pad; and a switching pathway of the first conductivity type in the third well, the switching pathway connecting the first well and the second well, wherein voltages applied to the first pad and the second pad are different from each other, and the discharge circuit is configured to alternate a discharge of a current of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) event between a plurality of paths a plurality of times, the plurality of paths including the switching pathway. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An electrostatic discharge circuit between a first pad and a second pad, comprising:
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an electrostatic discharge circuit element, including a bipolar transistor path and a switching pathway, the switching pathway including a depletion region, the bipolar transistor path and the switching pathway between the first pad and the second pad, wherein the switching pathway is configured to be at least substantially depleted under a normal operation, the switching pathway is configured so that a width of the depletion region is narrower than a width of the switching pathway, and the switching pathway includes a resistor path, during at least part of an ESD event, and the electrostatic discharge circuit element is configured to alternate a discharge of an electrostatic current between the bipolar transistor path and the resistor path a plurality of times during the ESD event. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An electrostatic discharge circuit comprising:
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a first pad and a second pad; and an electrostatic discharge circuit element connected between the first pad and the second pad, the electrostatic discharge circuit element including a device configured to alternate a discharge of an electrostatic current between a bipolar transistor path and a resistor path a plurality of times during an ESD event, wherein the device is configured to include a switching pathway including a depletion region between the first pad and the second pad, the switching pathway is configured to be at least substantially depleted under a normal operation, and the switching pathway is configured so that a width of the depletion region is narrower than a width of the switching pathway, and the switching pathway includes the resistor path, during at least part of the ESD event.
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20. An electrostatic discharge circuit comprising:
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a first pad and a second pad; and an electrostatic discharge circuit element connected between the first pad and the second pad, the electrostatic discharge circuit element including a device configured to control a voltage across the electrostatic discharge circuit element between a trigger voltage and a hold voltage to alternate discharge an electrostatic current a plurality of times under an ESD event, wherein the device is configured to include a switching pathway including a depletion region between the first pad and the second pad, the switching pathway is configured to be at least substantially depleted under a normal operation, and the switching pathway is configured so that a width of the depletion region is narrower than a width of the switching pathway, and the switching pathway includes a resistor path, during at least part of the ESD event.
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Specification