Electrostatic discharge protection device and application circuit thereof

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device and an application circuit thereof. The ESD protection device includes a P-type layer and an N-type layer in contact with the P-type layer, and a PN junction is formed at the interface between them. The PN junction is non-planar. In one method of manufacture, dopant implantation is performed to form an N-type well in the P-type layer, the N-type well overlapping or adjacent to the N-type layer, and to increase the surface area of the PN junction. The ESD protection diode can also have an anode and a cathode. An integrated circuit (IC) to be protected can have first and second power distribution networks disposed on opposite sides of the IC, connected to the IC to power the IC, and the ESD protection diode is disposed between the power distribution networks, with the cathode being part of one power distribution network and the anode being part of the other power distribution network. The non-planar PN junction of the ESD protection device advantageously provides a larger effective area of the PN junction without simultaneously increasing the die area or footprint of the ESD protection device.