Power Supply Circuit With Fast ESD Shutdown for High-Speed MOS Blocks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Semiconductor devices face damage from high-speed electrostatic discharge (ESD) due to inadequate protection, particularly affecting high-speed MOS transistors with unique manufacturing processes, leading to bird's beak formation and characteristic deterioration.
Innovation Solution
A power supply circuit with a first transistor, feedback voltage generation, and protection circuit that regulates voltage to prevent damage by making the transistor non-conducting or highly resistant during ESD, using transistors with dummy elements to minimize area and variation, and employing a voltage generation circuit to respond quickly to ESD stress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an electrostatic protection circuit is used to protect internal circuits against ESD stress, then reliability is improved, but the protection circuit fails when high-speed ESD stress is applied, resulting in damage to internal circuits
Solution Approach 1:
The protection circuit dynamically adjusts the resistance value of the first transistor based on the detected ESD stress conditions. When ESD stress is detected, the circuit changes the transistor from a low-resistance state to a high-resistance state, optimizing protection performance for high-speed ESD events while maintaining normal operation during standard conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The circuit changes the electrical parameters (resistance value) of the protection transistor in response to detected ESD stress. By adjusting the resistance parameter dynamically, the circuit achieves effective protection against high-speed ESD stress while maintaining compatibility with normal operating conditions.
2Manufacturing precision
If oxidation treatment is performed for the MOS transistor after the high-speed MOS transistor structure is processed, then the MOS transistor characteristics are improved, but bird's beak formation occurs, resulting in deterioration of high-speed MOS transistor characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the transistor structure into distinct regions with different characteristics. By creating a protected region for the high-speed MOS transistor and applying oxidation treatment only to specific areas, the circuit achieves improved MOS transistor characteristics while preventing bird's beak formation in critical high-speed operation areas.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the transistor structure are treated with different qualities and processing conditions. The high-speed MOS transistor region receives protected treatment to maintain its characteristics, while other regions undergo oxidation treatment to improve overall device performance without causing bird's beak formation.
Data Source
AI summary
According to the present embodiment, a power supply circuit includes a first transistor, a feedback voltage generation circuit, a first voltage generation circuit, and a protection circuit. The first transistor is connected between an input terminal and an output terminal. The feedback voltage generation circuit divides the output voltage to generate a feedback voltage. The first voltage generation circuit supplies a voltage to a first control terminal of the first transistor via a first node based on the feedback voltage and a reference voltage. The protection circuit outputs a voltage that makes the first transistor non-conducting or places the first transistor in a state where the first transistor has a predetermined high resistance value to the first control terminal, when the input voltage increases above a first threshold voltage within a predetermined time.