Self-Triggered ESD Protection Device Structure
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Modern semiconductor devices are vulnerable to electrostatic discharge (ESD) due to the transfer of electrostatic charges during manufacturing, testing, and packaging, leading to potential damage of inner circuits, and existing ESD protection devices require higher trigger voltages and lack robustness.
Innovation Solution
An ESD protection semiconductor device with a self-triggered structure is developed, featuring a substrate with a gate set, source and drain regions, and doped regions of complementary conductivity types, which are electrically connected to create a diode and npn bipolar junction transistor (BJT) for immediate ESD current bypass, reducing the threshold voltage and enhancing turn-on speed and robustness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional ESD protection devices are used, then device robustness is maintained, but threshold voltage remains high and turn-on speed is slow
Solution Approach 1:
The ESD protection device is segmented into multiple functional regions: a first doped region in the drain region, a second doped region in the substrate, and a gate set. This segmentation creates distinct zones for charge accumulation, field control, and current conduction, enabling the device to achieve both robustness and fast turn-on speed through coordinated operation of these segments
Solution Approach 2:
The first doped region and second doped region are pre-configured to form a self-triggered structure that accumulates charge in advance. When ESD occurs, this pre-configured structure immediately triggers the protective action, eliminating the delay associated with conventional devices that require higher trigger voltages to initiate protection
2Stability of the object's composition
If conventional ESD protection devices are used, then device stability is maintained, but threshold voltage is high
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes key parameters of the ESD protection device by introducing doped regions with specific conductivity types and configurations. The first doped region in the drain and second doped region in the substrate create a self-triggered structure that fundamentally alters the voltage threshold characteristics while maintaining device stability through controlled electrical connections
3Speed
If self-triggered structure with doped regions is implemented, then threshold voltage is reduced and turn-on speed is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The self-triggered structure merges the first doped region in the drain region with the second doped region in the substrate through electrical connection, creating an integrated protective mechanism. This merging allows the device to achieve fast turn-on speed through a unified structure rather than separate components, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining performance benefits
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The self-triggered structure effectively reduces the threshold voltage, improves turn-on speed, and increases the device's robustness against ESD, while maintaining low leakage when the device is turned off, and can be integrated into various transistor approaches without increasing manufacturing complexity or cost.
Implementation Method 1
the first doped region formed in the drain region and the second doped region formed in the substrate construct a self-triggered structure, therefore the threshold voltage of the ESD protection semiconductor device is reduced while the turn-on speed and the device robustness of the ESD protection semiconductor device are improved
Implementation Method 2
The electrostatic charges impact and damage the inner circuits in the chip, and this unwanted condition is named electrostatic discharge (ESD). As a countermeasure against to the ESD issue, there have been proposed ESD protection circuits/devices.
Implementation Method 3
at least a first doped region formed in the drain region, and at least a second doped region formed in the substrate... construct a self-triggered structure... construct a diode and npn bipolar junction transistor (BJT) for immediate ESD current bypass
Data Source
AI summary
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device includes a substrate, a first gate group and a second gate group on the substrate, a drain region and a fourth doped region respectively at two sides of the first gate group, a source region and the fourth doped region respectively at two sides of the second gate group, a first doped region in the substrate and surrounded by the drain region, and a second doped region in the substrate and surrounded by the fourth doped region. The drain region and the source region have a first conductivity type. The first doped region and the second doped region have a second conductivity type complementary to the first conductivity type. The drain region is electrically connected to an input/output pad. The source region is electrically connected to a ground pad. The first doped region and the second doped region are electrically connected to each other.