Abstract:
This paper reports new mechanisms, design, and analysis of novel electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection solutions, which enable post-Si field-programmable ESD protectio...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
This paper reports new mechanisms, design, and analysis of novel electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection solutions, which enable post-Si field-programmable ESD protection circuit design for the first time. Two new ESD protection concepts, nano-crystal quantum-dot (NC-QD) and silicon–oxide–nitride–oxide–silicon (SONOS)-based ESD protection, are presented. Experiments validated the two new programmable ESD protection mechanisms. Prototype designs demonstrated a wide adjustable ESD triggering voltage ({V}_{{t}1}) range of \Delta{V}_{{t}1}\sim \hbox{ 2 V}, very fast response ({t}_{1}) to ESD transients of rising time {t}_{r}\sim \hbox{ 100 pS} and pulse duration {t}_{d}\sim \hbox{ 1 nS}, ESD protection capability ({I}_{{t}2}) of at least 25 \hbox{mA}/\mu\hbox{m} for human body model (HBM) and 400 \hbox{mA}/\mu\hbox{m} for charged device model (CDM) equivalent stressing, and very low leakage current ({I}_{\rm leak}) as low as 1.2 pA. Field-programmable ESD protection circuit design examples are discussed.
Published in: IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits ( Volume: 48, Issue: 5, May 2013)