US20050167753A1 - Insulated gate bipolar transistor and electrostatic discharge cell protection utilizing insulated gate bipolar tansistors - Google Patents
Insulated gate bipolar transistor and electrostatic discharge cell protection utilizing insulated gate bipolar tansistors Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20050167753A1 US20050167753A1 US11/066,961 US6696105A US2005167753A1 US 20050167753 A1 US20050167753 A1 US 20050167753A1 US 6696105 A US6696105 A US 6696105A US 2005167753 A1 US2005167753 A1 US 2005167753A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- region
- gate bipolar
- insulated gate
- bipolar transistor
- well
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims description 26
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 claims description 13
- 238000002955 isolation Methods 0.000 claims description 8
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 abstract description 8
- 230000003071 parasitic effect Effects 0.000 description 35
- 230000015556 catabolic process Effects 0.000 description 7
- 230000006378 damage Effects 0.000 description 5
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 description 5
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 description 5
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 4
- 230000000903 blocking effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000000295 complement effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000005611 electricity Effects 0.000 description 3
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000002441 reversible effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000003068 static effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000009792 diffusion process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000005686 electrostatic field Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 2
- ZOXJGFHDIHLPTG-UHFFFAOYSA-N Boron Chemical compound [B] ZOXJGFHDIHLPTG-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000003321 amplification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052796 boron Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000003990 capacitor Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000470 constituent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007812 deficiency Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007599 discharging Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000005684 electric field Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005669 field effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- BHEPBYXIRTUNPN-UHFFFAOYSA-N hydridophosphorus(.) (triplet) Chemical compound [PH] BHEPBYXIRTUNPN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007769 metal material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910044991 metal oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 150000004706 metal oxides Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 238000003199 nucleic acid amplification method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910021420 polycrystalline silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000002028 premature Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000005368 silicate glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000002210 silicon-based material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000006641 stabilisation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011105 stabilization Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001052 transient effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001960 triggered effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L29/00—Semiconductor devices specially adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching and having potential barriers; Capacitors or resistors having potential barriers, e.g. a PN-junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
- H01L29/66—Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
- H01L29/68—Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor controllable by only the electric current supplied, or only the electric potential applied, to an electrode which does not carry the current to be rectified, amplified or switched
- H01L29/70—Bipolar devices
- H01L29/72—Transistor-type devices, i.e. able to continuously respond to applied control signals
- H01L29/739—Transistor-type devices, i.e. able to continuously respond to applied control signals controlled by field-effect, e.g. bipolar static induction transistors [BSIT]
- H01L29/7393—Insulated gate bipolar mode transistors, i.e. IGBT; IGT; COMFET
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L27/00—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
- H01L27/02—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers
- H01L27/0203—Particular design considerations for integrated circuits
- H01L27/0248—Particular design considerations for integrated circuits for electrical or thermal protection, e.g. electrostatic discharge [ESD] protection
- H01L27/0251—Particular design considerations for integrated circuits for electrical or thermal protection, e.g. electrostatic discharge [ESD] protection for MOS devices
- H01L27/0259—Particular design considerations for integrated circuits for electrical or thermal protection, e.g. electrostatic discharge [ESD] protection for MOS devices using bipolar transistors as protective elements
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L2924/00—Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
- H01L2924/0001—Technical content checked by a classifier
- H01L2924/0002—Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
Definitions
- the disclosure relates to electrostatic discharge protection of integrated circuits and, in particular, to insulated gate bipolar transistors for electrostatic discharge protection of integrated circuits.
- ESD electrostatic discharge
- static electricity is discharged into the integrated circuit upon contact or close proximity with the integrated circuit.
- Static electricity follows any discharge path to alleviate the high electron build-up or deficiency.
- an ESD sensitive device such as an integrated circuit, becomes part of the discharge path, or is brought within the bounds of an electrostatic field, the sensitive integrated circuit can be permanently damaged.
- MOSFET metal-oxide silicon field-effect transistor
- the arc burns a microscopic hole in the gate oxide, which permanently destroys the MOSFET.
- the gate of a MOSFET must be supplied with a finite charge to reach a particular voltage. Larger MOSFETs have greater capacitance and are therefore less susceptible to ESD than are smaller MOSFETs.
- an immediate failure will not occur until the gate-to-source or gate-to-drain voltage exceeds the dielectric breakdown voltage by two to three times the rated maximum voltage of the gate oxide.
- the voltages required to induce ESD damage in some transistors can be as high as thousands of volts or as low as 50 volts, depending upon the oxide thickness.
- Electrostatic fields can also destroy power MOSFETs by corona discharge.
- the failure mode is caused by ESD, but the effect is caused by placing the unprotected gate of the MOSFET in a corona discharge path.
- Corona discharge is caused by a positively or negatively charged surface discharging into small ionic molecules in the air.
- a voltage rating is selected for the pad connecting a node in the circuit.
- the rating is the maximum voltage that the integrated circuit or pad is designed to withstand without causing damage.
- ESD protection circuits are generally designed to protect integrated circuits or pads from voltages above the rating for the integrated circuit or housing.
- Automotive applications for example, demand robust protection (typically 8 kV to 25 kV human body model on a system level) against the threat of ESD or other transient pulses, such as load dump.
- General applications typically require protection at a minimum of 2,000 volts.
- an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit that includes an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) is disclosed.
- IGBT-based ESD circuit improves the ability to withstand ESD events.
- pad designs that take advantage of the ESD circuits with IGBTs are disclosed.
- a circuit for protection from electrostatic discharge events comprises an insulated gate bipolar transistor comprising a gate, an emitter and a collector.
- the collector is coupled with a pad, and the emitter is coupled with a potential.
- a collector clamp is coupled with the pad, and the gate of the insulated gate bipolar transistor, and a resistance is coupled with the emitter and the gate of the insulated gate bipolar transistor.
- a structure for electrostatic discharge protection of pads housing integrated circuits comprises a pad, an insulated gate bipolar transistor fabricated on the pad, a collector clamp coupled with the pad and the insulated gate bipolar transistor, and a resistor coupled with the insulated gate bipolar transistor.
- an insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a substrate, a first well region and a second well region within the substrate, a collector region within the first well region, first and second emitter regions within the second well region, and a first electrode connected with the first well region and the collector region.
- an insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a substrate, a first well region and a second well region within the substrate, first and second collector regions within the first well region, and first and second emitter regions within the second well region.
- an insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a substrate, a first well region and a second well region within the substrate, a first collector region within the first well region, first and second emitter regions within the second well region, and a third well region within the first well region.
- a method for protecting integrated circuits from electrostatic discharge events.
- a circuit including an insulated gate bipolar transistor that is coupled to a pad that is bonded to integrated circuits is provided.
- the method comprises triggering the insulated gate bipolar transistor, at a clamp trigger voltage, in response to an electrostatic build up on the pad that is at least equal to the clamp trigger voltage, and latching a parasitic thyristor of the insulated gate bipolar transistor, at a latching voltage that is greater than the clamp trigger voltage.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a circuit for electrostatic discharge protection
- FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram of an embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor for use in a circuit for electrostatic discharge protection
- FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a circuit for electrostatic discharge protection
- FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor
- FIG. 5 is a graph of the current-voltage characteristics of a collector of the lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor illustrated in FIG. 4 ;
- FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of an another embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor
- FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of a further embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor
- FIG. 8 is a graph of the current-voltage characteristics of a collector of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 ;
- FIG. 9 illustrates a well region of an embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor
- FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor with leakage current reduction
- FIG. 11 is layout of an embodiment of a pad with an electrostatic discharge protection circuit fabricated upon it.
- FIG. 12 is a graph of the direct current characteristics in response to an ESD event of the electrostatic discharge protection circuit fabricated on a pad as illustrated in FIG. 11 , when a parasitic thyristor latches.
- ESD protection circuit 2 includes an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) 5 that has a collector 10 coupled to pad 15 .
- IGBT 5 also has an emitter 20 that is coupled to a potential 25 that can be, for example, a ground potential.
- the ground potential can be a ground bus or a ground pad, as is known in the art.
- Gate 30 of IGBT 5 is coupled through a collector clamp 35 , which comprises one or more diodes, to pad 15 .
- a resistor 45 is coupled between emitter 20 and gate 30 .
- an emitter clamp 40 which also comprises one or more diodes, may be coupled between emitter 20 and gate 30 .
- Emitter clamp 40 is designed to protect gate 30 of IGBT 5 from current surges through collector clamp 35 that could burn through the gate dielectric of gate 30 .
- Collector 35 and emitter clamp 40 can, for example, be zener diodes, diodes, or active clamps, e.g., gate shorted MOSFETs.
- collector clamp 35 When the voltage at pad 15 is below the trigger voltage of collector clamp 35 , collector clamp 35 is in a blocking state. As long as collector clamp 35 is not triggered, i.e., does not conduct, emitter 20 and gate 30 are both at potential 25 , thus preventing IGBT 5 from conducting. At the onset of an ESD event, when a voltage greater than the trigger voltage of collector clamp 35 appears at pad 15 , collector clamp 35 will begin conduction. Conduction by collector clamp 35 causes a current to flow along path 55 through resistor 45 .
- IGBT 5 will enter its forward conduction state, resulting in an increasing collector to emitter voltage 50 .
- the collector to emitter voltage 50 increases, it will reach a level at which the current through IGBT 5 latches a parasitic thyristor that exists in the structure of IGBT 5 .
- Latching of the parasitic thyristor causes a substantial decrease in the collector to emitter voltage 50 .
- the substantial decrease in collector to emitter voltage 50 results in dissipation of charge at the pad 15 , almost instantaneously.
- the parasitic thyristor structure of IGBT 5 will continue to conduct until all of the charge at the pad 15 is dissipated.
- ESD protection circuit 2 is fabricated upon pad 15 , an embodiment of which is depicted in FIG. 11 .
- n-well 84 forms a junction with p-well 86 .
- a collector region 90 which is a p + -type material, is formed in n-well 84 .
- a first emitter region 88 which is a n + -type material, and a second emitter region 96 , which is a p + -type material, are formed in p-well 86 .
- Formation of inversion layer 82 causes electrons to flow through inversion layer 82 from first emitter region 88 on the surface of p-well 86 to n-well 84 . Holes flow in the reverse direction of the electrons, when collector 90 is forward biased with respect to n-well 84 , e.g., when the collector 90 is at a potential of 0.7 volts greater than n-well 84 .
- the flow of holes into n-well 84 turns on bipolar transistor 92 , as n-well 84 forms the base of a pnp bipolar transistor 92 .
- Bipolar transistor 92 which is formed from collector region 90 (transistor collector), n-well 84 (transistor base), and p-well 86 (transistor emitter), is inherent in the structure of IGBT 5 .
- first emitter region 88 When the holes collected by well 86 flow under first emitter region 88 into second emitter region 96 , they forward bias the junction between first emitter region 88 and second emitter region 96 , which causes a parasitic thyristor 94 to latch up.
- Parasitic thyristor 94 is formed from collector region 90 , n-well 84 , p-well 86 , and first emitter region 88 .
- parasitic thyristor 94 At latch up, parasitic thyristor 94 will not respond to changes in the current or voltage at gate 30 of IGBT 5 . Current will flow through parasitic thyristor 94 until all of the charge at pad 15 is dissipated.
- Triggering a parasitic thyristor in the structure of an IGBT to dissipate ESD-induced voltages provides several advantages over MOSFET-based ESD protection schemes.
- One advantage is improved power dissipation by ESD protection circuit 2 .
- the improved power dissipation increases the useful life of ESD protection circuit 2 .
- the trigger voltage would be the sum of the reverse breakdown voltages of the one or more diodes that comprise collector clamp 35 .
- the voltage at which IGBT 5 begins conduction is altered, allowing a system designer to change the rating of pad 15 without having to redesign or change out IGBT 5 .
- the breakdown voltage is altered by changing the number of diodes that make up collector clamp 35 , without having to change the rating of the diodes.
- FIG. 3 another circuit for electrostatic discharge protection is illustrated.
- another IGBT 60 is added to ESD protection circuit 2 .
- An emitter 65 of IGBT 60 is coupled to emitter 20 of IGBT 5 .
- the gate 70 of IGBT 60 is coupled to its emitter 65 through emitter clamp 41 and resistor 46 .
- Collector 80 of IGBT 60 is coupled to pad 81 .
- Another collector clamp 75 couples gate 70 of IGBT 60 to pad 81 .
- IGBT 5 is coupled essentially the same way as illustrated in FIG. 1 .
- the circuit in FIG. 3 is especially advantageous in handling bi-directional ESD events, where a voltage at pad 81 is greater than a potential at pad 15 as well the reverse. This is because IGBT 5 responds to positive ESD events, while IGBT 60 responds to negative ESD events. Further, both collector clamps 35 and 75 can be optimized either together or separately to allow flexibility in the ESD rating of pad 15 .
- ESD protection circuits of FIGS. 1 and 3 can be integrated circuits for ease of use and manufacture onto pad 15 .
- the circuits described in FIGS. 1 and 3 can be utilized regardless of the desired voltage rating of pad 15 without changing IGBT 5 or IGBT 60 .
- IGBT 5 can, for example, withstand 5,000 volts during an ESD event, or any other amount.
- the circuit can operate for a pad 15 rated to almost any value, simply by changing the trigger voltage of collector clamp 35 or collector clamp 75 to the desired rating.
- the trigger voltage can be changed by adding or removing diodes. This greatly increases the utility and cost effectiveness of the ESD protection circuits 2 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 over conventional ESD protection designs.
- IGBT 5 comprises a substrate 100 , which may be p-type.
- An epitaxial region 105 which may be n-type, is diffused into substrate 100 .
- An isolation region 110 which may also be an up-diffused p-type region, is also formed in substrate 100 , along with a p-well 115 .
- a first emitter region 120 which may be p + -type, and a second emitter region 125 , which may be n + -type, are formed within p-well 115 .
- a collector region 130 which also may be p + -type, is formed in a n-well 135 that is formed in epitaxial region 105 . Portions of n-well 135 and p-well 115 are separated by epitaxial region 105 , while other portions form a junction.
- a gate electrode 140 which in one embodiment is comprised of a polycrystalline silicon material, is located above an extended portion of p-well 115 , a portion of second emitter region 125 , and a portion of n-well 135 .
- a field oxide 145 is interposed between gate electrode 140 and another portion of n-well 135 .
- An emitter electrode 150 is in common contact with both first emitter region 120 and second emitter region 125 .
- a collector electrode 155 is in contact with collector region 130 .
- An insulation film 165 formed of a thermally oxidized film, a boron phosphorous silicate glass (BPSG) or other insulation, is disposed over IGBT 5 for surface protection and for surface stabilization.
- BPSG boron phosphorous silicate glass
- an inversion layer 170 on the surface of p-well 115 is created between second emitter region 125 and n-well 135 . Electrons then flow from second emitter region 125 through p-well 115 into n-well 135 through inversion layer 170 .
- the electron flow into n-well 135 functions as a base current of a pnp transistor 175 , which is formed by collector region 130 (transistor emitter), n-well 135 (transistor base), and p-well 115 (transistor collector).
- collector region 130 Once collector region 130 reaches a voltage greater than 0.7 volts above that of n-well 135 , collector region 130 begins to inject holes into p-well 115 (transistor collector), thereby causing conduction by PNP transistor 175 .
- the difference of 0.7 volts, between collector region 130 and n-well 135 can be altered by changing the doping of the collector region 130 and the n-well 135 , which effects the potential at which pnp transistor 175 conducts.
- Parasitic thyristor 180 latches up when the holes collected in p-well 115 flow under second emitter region 125 and forward bias first emitter region 120 . Parasitic thyristor 180 then will conduct all of the current flowing through the IGBT 5 . Parasitic thyristor 180 consists of second emitter region 125 (thyristor cathode), p-well 115 (npn transistor base), n-well 135 (pnp transistor base), and collector region 130 (thyristor anode). Further, parasitic thyristor 180 will not cease conduction until all of the charge at collector electrode 155 is dissipated.
- Latching of parasitic thyristor 180 varies based upon the pinched resistance of p-well 115 .
- the pinched resistance of p-well 115 is a function of the dimensions of second emitter region 125 and p-well 115 , as discussed with respect to FIG. 9 .
- Triggering the parasitic thyristor 180 in IGBT 5 runs counter to the accepted and desired use of IGBTs. This is because, as described above, parasitic thyristor 180 will not cease conduction until the charge at collector electrode 155 is dissipated. The result is that, once the parasitic thyristor 180 is latched up, the IGBT 5 cannot be controlled by its bias circuitry and cannot operate in its linear amplification or switching region.
- isolation region 110 is used to reduce the surface electric fields (RESURF) between p-well 115 and n-well 135 . Further, by varying the depth of isolation region 110 the collector to emitter breakdown voltage, which is the forward blocking voltage of IGBT 5 , can be varied.
- RESURF surface electric fields
- FIG. 5 a graph of the current-voltage characteristics of a collector of the lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor illustrated in FIG. 4 is illustrated.
- collector to emitter voltage 200 increases, it will snap-back 210 when parasitic thyristor 180 latches up.
- the voltage at gate 30 is increased the snap-back voltage of the parasitic thyristor 180 decreases, as shown by gate voltage levels 215 , 220 , 225 , and 230 .
- FIG. 5 illustrates the advantage of the use of an IGBT for ESD protection by showing operation of parasitic thyristor 180 .
- parasitic thyristor 180 latches up at a voltage which is a sum of the clamp trigger voltage 235 and the gate voltage of the IGBT. This can be altered by changing the pinched resistance of p-well 115 .
- the parasitic thyristor 180 begins conducting, thereby reducing the charge at pad 15 ( FIG. 1 ) until all of the charge at pad 15 is dissipated.
- the operation of parasitic thyristor 180 is shown by curve 240 .
- the collector to emitter breakdown voltage 245 is the voltage at which IGBT 5 is not able function in a forward blocking state.
- the breakdown voltage of collector clamp 35 must be set to a level below the collector to emitter breakdown voltage 245 minus the gate voltage of IGBT 5 required to trigger parasitic thyristor 280 .
- FIG. 6 a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor 5 for electrostatic discharge protection circuit 2 is illustrated.
- a second collector region 300 which may be n + -type, is added, so as to form a junction with the collector region 130 .
- the second collector region 300 acts as a short between collector electrode 155 and n-well 135 during conduction by IGBT 5 .
- another p-type well region 305 is used to improve the injection of holes from the collector region 130 into the second portion 310 of the n-well 135 , which is separated from the first portion 315 of the n-well 135 .
- the first portion 315 and second portion 310 are connected by a buried region 317 , which is n-type.
- the collector region 130 is p + -type.
- FIG. 7 a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor for electrostatic discharge protection is illustrated.
- a metal contact 320 is then added to collector electrode 155 .
- the metal contact 320 which is a Schottky contact, acts as a short between collector electrode 155 and n-well 135 during conduction by IGBT 5 .
- the short between collector electrode 155 and n-well 135 improves bi-directional ESD event dissipation and allows for conduction by IGBT 5 at a lower voltage.
- metal contact 320 improves the homogenous turn on of parasitic thyristor 180 .
- collector electrode 155 can itself be completely or partially formed of a metallic material to form either an ohmic or a Schottky contact to collector region 135 .
- An advantage of the lateral IGBTs in FIGS. 6 and 7 over that of FIG. 4 is the reaction of the IGBT to negative ESD events, where the charge at the pad 15 ( FIG. 1 ) is negative with respect to potential 25 .
- Substrate 100 and n-well 135 form a diode between substrate 100 and collector electrode 155 due to the short between n-well 135 and collector electrode 155 .
- the diode conducts current induced by negative ESD events from pad 15 to substrate 100 , and allows IGBT 5 to dissipate voltages induced by negative ESD events.
- the use of the structures of FIGS. 6 and 7 improves the response to negative ESD events versus that of FIG. 4 .
- FIG. 8 a graph of the current-voltage characteristics of a collector of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor 5 of FIGS. 6 and 7 is illustrated.
- the collector to emitter voltage 400 increases, it will snap-back at 410 as parasitic thyristor 180 latches-up, as described with respect to FIG. 5 .
- the latch-up voltage of the parasitic thyristor 180 decreases, as shown by gate voltage levels 415 , 420 and 430 as described with respect to FIG. 5 .
- a feature of the IGBT structures of FIGS. 6 and 7 is collector conduction prior to the turn on of pnp transistor 175 , as shown by early current flows 435 .
- doping concentrations of 3 ⁇ 10 16 for p-well 115 and 7 ⁇ 10 16 for n-well 135 can be used.
- IGBT structures discussed with respect to FIGS. 4, 6 , and 7 .
- a p-well or p-body region, or complementary doping in a complementary IGBT, that is self-alligned with gate electrode 140 may be included.
- field oxide 145 can be replaced with thin oxide.
- FIG. 9 an enlarged cross-sectional view of a region in a well at the emitter of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor from any of FIGS. 4, 6 , and 7 is illustrated.
- a region 500 and a well region 505 are illustrated.
- Region 500 has a width 510 and length 515
- well region 505 has a depth 520 .
- the resistance of the well region 505 decreases, thereby increasing the latching current of the parasitic thyristor 180 . Also, if the length of region 500 is decreased, then the resistance of well region 505 will also increase the latching current parasitic thyristor 180 .
- FIG. 10 a cross-sectional view of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor with leakage current reduction is illustrated.
- the IGBTs shown in FIGS. 4, 6 , and 7 each have a small leakage current on the surface of the pnp transistor 175 .
- This leakage current which is inherent to the structure of an IGBT, can cause erroneous latching of the parasitic thyristor 180 due to the leakage current that occurs prior to triggering of collector clamp 35 . Inserting a punch through reduction region 550 that forms a butting junction with collector region 130 on the side of field oxide 145 can substantially reduce or eliminate the leakage current.
- a buffer region can be added to the n-well 135 .
- the buffer region can be formed by heavily doping the portion of the n-well 135 abutting the collector region 130 .
- Pad 15 has a trace 700 that forms resistor 45 and diffusions 705 that form collector clamp 35 , which is made up of a number of diodes. Diffusions 705 have a number of contacts 710 to pad 15 .
- Gate 140 which has rounded corners as depicted, overlies n-well 135 , p-well 115 , and second emitter region 125 . Each of n-well 135 , p-well 115 , and second emitter region 125 have a similar shape to gate 140 .
- a number of contacts 720 provide bonding to pad 15 .
- Collector region 130 is diffused along a periphery of pad 115 and also has a number or contacts 720 .
- IGBT 5 By fabricating IGBT 5 on a pad, the ruggedness of IGBT 5 is increased due to the charge distribution on the device. Further, the response time of IGBT 5 improves by fabricating it on pad 15 , thereby reducing the potential for damage to integrated circuits bonded to pad 15 . In another embodiment, IGBT 5 is fabricated on at least two sides of one of the surfaces of pad 15 .
- FIG. 11 depicts IGBT 5 in a substantially oval configuration
- other configurations of IGBT can be used.
- race-track, or configurations having multiple fingers can be used.
- IGBT 5 can be fabricated on two or three sides of a surface of pad 15 .
- FIG. 12 is a graph of the direct current characteristics in response to an ESD event of the electrostatic discharge protection circuit 2 fabricated on pad 15 ( FIG. 11 ), when the parasitic thyristor 180 latches.
- the amount of time required to dissipate the large voltage at pad 15 is minimal.
- the triggering of parasitic thyristor 180 almost instantaneously reduces the voltage to a low holding voltage.
- parasitic thyristor 180 snaps-back to the low holding voltage without damage to electrostatic discharge protection circuit 2 and IGBT 5 .
- IGBT 5 is illustrated as a lateral IGBT in FIGS. 4, 6 , and 7
- a vertical IGBT can also be utilized based upon the principles and utilizing the same region constituents as described herein. Further, it would be advantageous to use a vertical IGBT in an integrated ESD protection circuit.
- Embodiments of ESD protection circuits and transistors capable of being used with the ESD circuits described herein are also depicted and described in a copending U.S. patent application entitled “Thick Gate Oxide Transistor And Electrostatic Discharge Protection Utilizing Thick Gate Oxide Transistors,” Ser. No. 10/336,202, which is assigned to the Assignee of the current application, and was filed on the same date (i.e., Jan. 3, 2003) as the present application.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
- Semiconductor Integrated Circuits (AREA)
- Metal-Oxide And Bipolar Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Integrated Circuits (AREA)
Abstract
IGBTs and circuits can be designed to improve the ability of circuits and systems to withstand ESD events. In addition pads can be designed to take advantage of the circuits and IGBTs to withstand and dissipate ESD events.
Description
- The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/336,129 filed by Shekar Mallikarjunaswamy and Sohel Imtiaz on Jan. 3, 2003.
- 1. Technical Field
- The disclosure relates to electrostatic discharge protection of integrated circuits and, in particular, to insulated gate bipolar transistors for electrostatic discharge protection of integrated circuits.
- 2. The Related Art
- A problem in designing integrated circuits is dealing with electrostatic discharge (ESD), which is caused by static electricity built up by the human body and machines that handle integrated circuits. The static electricity is discharged into the integrated circuit upon contact or close proximity with the integrated circuit. Static electricity follows any discharge path to alleviate the high electron build-up or deficiency. When an ESD sensitive device, such as an integrated circuit, becomes part of the discharge path, or is brought within the bounds of an electrostatic field, the sensitive integrated circuit can be permanently damaged.
- ESD destruction of metal-oxide silicon field-effect transistor (MOSFET) devices occurs when the gate-to-source or gate-to-drain voltage is high enough to arc across the gate dielectric of a transistor device. The arc burns a microscopic hole in the gate oxide, which permanently destroys the MOSFET. Like any capacitor, the gate of a MOSFET must be supplied with a finite charge to reach a particular voltage. Larger MOSFETs have greater capacitance and are therefore less susceptible to ESD than are smaller MOSFETs. Typically, an immediate failure will not occur until the gate-to-source or gate-to-drain voltage exceeds the dielectric breakdown voltage by two to three times the rated maximum voltage of the gate oxide. The voltages required to induce ESD damage in some transistors can be as high as thousands of volts or as low as 50 volts, depending upon the oxide thickness.
- Electrostatic fields can also destroy power MOSFETs by corona discharge. The failure mode is caused by ESD, but the effect is caused by placing the unprotected gate of the MOSFET in a corona discharge path. Corona discharge is caused by a positively or negatively charged surface discharging into small ionic molecules in the air.
- When designing an integrated circuit, a voltage rating is selected for the pad connecting a node in the circuit. The rating is the maximum voltage that the integrated circuit or pad is designed to withstand without causing damage. ESD protection circuits are generally designed to protect integrated circuits or pads from voltages above the rating for the integrated circuit or housing.
- Automotive applications, for example, demand robust protection (typically 8 kV to 25 kV human body model on a system level) against the threat of ESD or other transient pulses, such as load dump. General applications typically require protection at a minimum of 2,000 volts. Unfortunately, many power MOSFET device designs are unable to meet this requirement.
- Therefore, there exists a need to effectively protect circuits from the effects of ESD both cost effectively and efficiently.
- In accordance with the present invention, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit that includes an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) is disclosed. In some embodiments, the IGBT-based ESD circuit improves the ability to withstand ESD events. In additional embodiments pad designs that take advantage of the ESD circuits with IGBTs are disclosed.
- In one embodiment, a circuit for protection from electrostatic discharge events comprises an insulated gate bipolar transistor comprising a gate, an emitter and a collector. The collector is coupled with a pad, and the emitter is coupled with a potential. A collector clamp is coupled with the pad, and the gate of the insulated gate bipolar transistor, and a resistance is coupled with the emitter and the gate of the insulated gate bipolar transistor.
- In another embodiment, a structure for electrostatic discharge protection of pads housing integrated circuits comprises a pad, an insulated gate bipolar transistor fabricated on the pad, a collector clamp coupled with the pad and the insulated gate bipolar transistor, and a resistor coupled with the insulated gate bipolar transistor.
- In a further embodiment, an insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a substrate, a first well region and a second well region within the substrate, a collector region within the first well region, first and second emitter regions within the second well region, and a first electrode connected with the first well region and the collector region.
- In an additional embodiment, an insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a substrate, a first well region and a second well region within the substrate, first and second collector regions within the first well region, and first and second emitter regions within the second well region.
- In yet another embodiment, an insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a substrate, a first well region and a second well region within the substrate, a first collector region within the first well region, first and second emitter regions within the second well region, and a third well region within the first well region.
- In yet a further embodiment, a method is provided for protecting integrated circuits from electrostatic discharge events. A circuit including an insulated gate bipolar transistor that is coupled to a pad that is bonded to integrated circuits is provided. The method comprises triggering the insulated gate bipolar transistor, at a clamp trigger voltage, in response to an electrostatic build up on the pad that is at least equal to the clamp trigger voltage, and latching a parasitic thyristor of the insulated gate bipolar transistor, at a latching voltage that is greater than the clamp trigger voltage.
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a circuit for electrostatic discharge protection; -
FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram of an embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor for use in a circuit for electrostatic discharge protection; -
FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a circuit for electrostatic discharge protection; -
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor; -
FIG. 5 is a graph of the current-voltage characteristics of a collector of the lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor illustrated inFIG. 4 ; -
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of an another embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor; -
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of a further embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor; -
FIG. 8 is a graph of the current-voltage characteristics of a collector of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor illustrated inFIGS. 6 and 7 ; -
FIG. 9 illustrates a well region of an embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor; -
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor with leakage current reduction; -
FIG. 11 is layout of an embodiment of a pad with an electrostatic discharge protection circuit fabricated upon it; and -
FIG. 12 is a graph of the direct current characteristics in response to an ESD event of the electrostatic discharge protection circuit fabricated on a pad as illustrated inFIG. 11 , when a parasitic thyristor latches. - In the present disclosure, like objects that appear in more than one figure are provided with like reference numerals. Further, objects in the figures and relationships in sizes between objects in the figures are not to scale.
- Referring to
FIG. 1 , acircuit 2 for electrostatic discharge protection is illustrated. Apad 15, along with any integrated circuits coupled topad 15, are protected by electrostatic discharge (ESD)protection circuit 2.ESD protection circuit 2 includes an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) 5 that has acollector 10 coupled topad 15. IGBT 5 also has anemitter 20 that is coupled to a potential 25 that can be, for example, a ground potential. The ground potential can be a ground bus or a ground pad, as is known in the art.Gate 30 of IGBT 5 is coupled through acollector clamp 35, which comprises one or more diodes, topad 15. Aresistor 45 is coupled betweenemitter 20 andgate 30. Further, anemitter clamp 40, which also comprises one or more diodes, may be coupled betweenemitter 20 andgate 30.Emitter clamp 40 is designed to protectgate 30 ofIGBT 5 from current surges throughcollector clamp 35 that could burn through the gate dielectric ofgate 30. -
Collector 35 andemitter clamp 40 can, for example, be zener diodes, diodes, or active clamps, e.g., gate shorted MOSFETs. - When the voltage at
pad 15 is below the trigger voltage ofcollector clamp 35,collector clamp 35 is in a blocking state. As long ascollector clamp 35 is not triggered, i.e., does not conduct,emitter 20 andgate 30 are both at potential 25, thus preventingIGBT 5 from conducting. At the onset of an ESD event, when a voltage greater than the trigger voltage ofcollector clamp 35 appears atpad 15,collector clamp 35 will begin conduction. Conduction bycollector clamp 35 causes a current to flow alongpath 55 throughresistor 45. - Once a positive voltage with respect to
emitter 20 appears atgate 30, due to the current flow throughresistor 45,IGBT 5 will enter its forward conduction state, resulting in an increasing collector toemitter voltage 50. As the collector toemitter voltage 50 increases, it will reach a level at which the current throughIGBT 5 latches a parasitic thyristor that exists in the structure ofIGBT 5. Latching of the parasitic thyristor causes a substantial decrease in the collector toemitter voltage 50. The substantial decrease in collector toemitter voltage 50 results in dissipation of charge at thepad 15, almost instantaneously. The parasitic thyristor structure ofIGBT 5 will continue to conduct until all of the charge at thepad 15 is dissipated. - In some embodiments,
ESD protection circuit 2 is fabricated uponpad 15, an embodiment of which is depicted inFIG. 11 . - Referring to
FIG. 2 , a simplified diagram of an embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor for use in acircuit 2 for electrostatic discharge protection is illustrated. InFIG. 2 , n-well 84 forms a junction with p-well 86. A collector region 90, which is a p+-type material, is formed in n-well 84. Afirst emitter region 88, which is a n+-type material, and asecond emitter region 96, which is a p+-type material, are formed in p-well 86. - When a voltage is applied at
gate 30 that exceeds the threshold voltage forIGBT 5, aninversion layer 82 forms on the surface of n-well 84. A voltage atgate 30 will arise when a current flows along path 55 (FIG. 1 ), thus pulling up the gate voltage due to the current flowing throughresistor 45. - Formation of
inversion layer 82 causes electrons to flow throughinversion layer 82 fromfirst emitter region 88 on the surface of p-well 86 to n-well 84. Holes flow in the reverse direction of the electrons, when collector 90 is forward biased with respect to n-well 84, e.g., when the collector 90 is at a potential of 0.7 volts greater than n-well 84. The flow of holes into n-well 84 turns onbipolar transistor 92, as n-well 84 forms the base of a pnpbipolar transistor 92.Bipolar transistor 92, which is formed from collector region 90 (transistor collector), n-well 84 (transistor base), and p-well 86 (transistor emitter), is inherent in the structure ofIGBT 5. - When the holes collected by well 86 flow under
first emitter region 88 intosecond emitter region 96, they forward bias the junction betweenfirst emitter region 88 andsecond emitter region 96, which causes aparasitic thyristor 94 to latch up.Parasitic thyristor 94 is formed from collector region 90, n-well 84, p-well 86, andfirst emitter region 88. At latch up,parasitic thyristor 94 will not respond to changes in the current or voltage atgate 30 ofIGBT 5. Current will flow throughparasitic thyristor 94 until all of the charge atpad 15 is dissipated. - Triggering a parasitic thyristor in the structure of an IGBT to dissipate ESD-induced voltages provides several advantages over MOSFET-based ESD protection schemes. One advantage is improved power dissipation by
ESD protection circuit 2. The improved power dissipation increases the useful life ofESD protection circuit 2. - Referring again to
FIG. 1 , whencollector clamp 35 consists of diodes, the trigger voltage would be the sum of the reverse breakdown voltages of the one or more diodes that comprisecollector clamp 35. By changing the trigger voltage ofcollector clamp 35, the voltage at whichIGBT 5 begins conduction is altered, allowing a system designer to change the rating ofpad 15 without having to redesign or change outIGBT 5. This results in a substantial cost saving and design flexibility, sinceIGBT 5 can be used regardless of the rating of the pad. In some embodiments, the breakdown voltage is altered by changing the number of diodes that make upcollector clamp 35, without having to change the rating of the diodes. - Referring to
FIG. 3 , another circuit for electrostatic discharge protection is illustrated. InFIG. 3 , anotherIGBT 60 is added toESD protection circuit 2. Anemitter 65 ofIGBT 60 is coupled toemitter 20 ofIGBT 5. Thegate 70 ofIGBT 60 is coupled to itsemitter 65 through emitter clamp 41 and resistor 46.Collector 80 ofIGBT 60 is coupled to pad 81. Another collector clamp 75couples gate 70 ofIGBT 60 to pad 81.IGBT 5 is coupled essentially the same way as illustrated inFIG. 1 . - The circuit in
FIG. 3 is especially advantageous in handling bi-directional ESD events, where a voltage atpad 81 is greater than a potential atpad 15 as well the reverse. This is becauseIGBT 5 responds to positive ESD events, whileIGBT 60 responds to negative ESD events. Further, both collector clamps 35 and 75 can be optimized either together or separately to allow flexibility in the ESD rating ofpad 15. - It should be noted that the ESD protection circuits of
FIGS. 1 and 3 can be integrated circuits for ease of use and manufacture ontopad 15. - The circuits described in
FIGS. 1 and 3 can be utilized regardless of the desired voltage rating ofpad 15 without changingIGBT 5 orIGBT 60.IGBT 5 can, for example, withstand 5,000 volts during an ESD event, or any other amount. However, the circuit can operate for apad 15 rated to almost any value, simply by changing the trigger voltage ofcollector clamp 35 orcollector clamp 75 to the desired rating. In the case where eithercollector clamp 35 orcollector clamp 75 comprises diodes, the trigger voltage can be changed by adding or removing diodes. This greatly increases the utility and cost effectiveness of theESD protection circuits 2 illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 3 over conventional ESD protection designs. - Referring to
FIG. 4 , a cross-sectional side view of a lateral insulated gatebipolar transistor 5 for electrostaticdischarge protection circuit 2 is illustrated. InFIG. 4 ,IGBT 5 comprises asubstrate 100, which may be p-type. Anepitaxial region 105, which may be n-type, is diffused intosubstrate 100. Anisolation region 110, which may also be an up-diffused p-type region, is also formed insubstrate 100, along with a p-well 115. Afirst emitter region 120, which may be p+-type, and asecond emitter region 125, which may be n+-type, are formed within p-well 115. Acollector region 130, which also may be p+-type, is formed in a n-well 135 that is formed inepitaxial region 105. Portions of n-well 135 and p-well 115 are separated byepitaxial region 105, while other portions form a junction. - A
gate electrode 140, which in one embodiment is comprised of a polycrystalline silicon material, is located above an extended portion of p-well 115, a portion ofsecond emitter region 125, and a portion of n-well 135. Afield oxide 145 is interposed betweengate electrode 140 and another portion of n-well 135. Anemitter electrode 150 is in common contact with bothfirst emitter region 120 andsecond emitter region 125. Acollector electrode 155 is in contact withcollector region 130. Aninsulation film 165, formed of a thermally oxidized film, a boron phosphorous silicate glass (BPSG) or other insulation, is disposed overIGBT 5 for surface protection and for surface stabilization. - Operation of the
IGBT 5 ofFIG. 4 will now be described. Once a voltage, higher than the threshold voltage and positive with respect to a potential ofemitter electrode 150, is applied togate electrode 140, aninversion layer 170 on the surface of p-well 115 is created betweensecond emitter region 125 and n-well 135. Electrons then flow fromsecond emitter region 125 through p-well 115 into n-well 135 throughinversion layer 170. The electron flow into n-well 135 functions as a base current of apnp transistor 175, which is formed by collector region 130 (transistor emitter), n-well 135 (transistor base), and p-well 115 (transistor collector). - Once
collector region 130 reaches a voltage greater than 0.7 volts above that of n-well 135,collector region 130 begins to inject holes into p-well 115 (transistor collector), thereby causing conduction byPNP transistor 175. The difference of 0.7 volts, betweencollector region 130 and n-well 135, can be altered by changing the doping of thecollector region 130 and the n-well 135, which effects the potential at whichpnp transistor 175 conducts. -
Parasitic thyristor 180 latches up when the holes collected in p-well 115 flow undersecond emitter region 125 and forward biasfirst emitter region 120.Parasitic thyristor 180 then will conduct all of the current flowing through theIGBT 5.Parasitic thyristor 180 consists of second emitter region 125 (thyristor cathode), p-well 115 (npn transistor base), n-well 135 (pnp transistor base), and collector region 130 (thyristor anode). Further,parasitic thyristor 180 will not cease conduction until all of the charge atcollector electrode 155 is dissipated. Latching ofparasitic thyristor 180 varies based upon the pinched resistance of p-well 115. The pinched resistance of p-well 115 is a function of the dimensions ofsecond emitter region 125 and p-well 115, as discussed with respect toFIG. 9 . - Triggering the
parasitic thyristor 180 inIGBT 5 runs counter to the accepted and desired use of IGBTs. This is because, as described above,parasitic thyristor 180 will not cease conduction until the charge atcollector electrode 155 is dissipated. The result is that, once theparasitic thyristor 180 is latched up, theIGBT 5 cannot be controlled by its bias circuitry and cannot operate in its linear amplification or switching region. - It should be noted that
isolation region 110 is used to reduce the surface electric fields (RESURF) between p-well 115 and n-well 135. Further, by varying the depth ofisolation region 110 the collector to emitter breakdown voltage, which is the forward blocking voltage ofIGBT 5, can be varied. - Referring to
FIG. 5 , a graph of the current-voltage characteristics of a collector of the lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor illustrated inFIG. 4 is illustrated. InFIG. 5 , as collector toemitter voltage 200 increases, it will snap-back 210 whenparasitic thyristor 180 latches up. Also, as the voltage atgate 30 is increased the snap-back voltage of theparasitic thyristor 180 decreases, as shown bygate voltage levels - Additionally,
FIG. 5 illustrates the advantage of the use of an IGBT for ESD protection by showing operation ofparasitic thyristor 180. Specifically,parasitic thyristor 180 latches up at a voltage which is a sum of theclamp trigger voltage 235 and the gate voltage of the IGBT. This can be altered by changing the pinched resistance of p-well 115. Upon latching up, theparasitic thyristor 180 begins conducting, thereby reducing the charge at pad 15 (FIG. 1 ) until all of the charge atpad 15 is dissipated. The operation ofparasitic thyristor 180 is shown bycurve 240. - The collector to
emitter breakdown voltage 245 is the voltage at whichIGBT 5 is not able function in a forward blocking state. InESD protection circuit 2, the breakdown voltage ofcollector clamp 35 must be set to a level below the collector toemitter breakdown voltage 245 minus the gate voltage ofIGBT 5 required to trigger parasitic thyristor 280. - Referring to
FIG. 6 , a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a lateral insulated gatebipolar transistor 5 for electrostaticdischarge protection circuit 2 is illustrated. InFIG. 6 , asecond collector region 300, which may be n+-type, is added, so as to form a junction with thecollector region 130. Thesecond collector region 300 acts as a short betweencollector electrode 155 and n-well 135 during conduction byIGBT 5. - Further, another p-
type well region 305 is used to improve the injection of holes from thecollector region 130 into thesecond portion 310 of the n-well 135, which is separated from thefirst portion 315 of the n-well 135. Thefirst portion 315 andsecond portion 310 are connected by a buriedregion 317, which is n-type. Thecollector region 130 is p+-type. - Referring to
FIG. 7 , a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor for electrostatic discharge protection is illustrated. InFIG. 7 , ametal contact 320 is then added tocollector electrode 155. Themetal contact 320, which is a Schottky contact, acts as a short betweencollector electrode 155 and n-well 135 during conduction byIGBT 5. The short betweencollector electrode 155 and n-well 135 improves bi-directional ESD event dissipation and allows for conduction byIGBT 5 at a lower voltage. Further,metal contact 320 improves the homogenous turn on ofparasitic thyristor 180. - Alternatively,
collector electrode 155 can itself be completely or partially formed of a metallic material to form either an ohmic or a Schottky contact tocollector region 135. - An advantage of the lateral IGBTs in
FIGS. 6 and 7 over that ofFIG. 4 is the reaction of the IGBT to negative ESD events, where the charge at the pad 15 (FIG. 1 ) is negative with respect topotential 25.Substrate 100 and n-well 135 form a diode betweensubstrate 100 andcollector electrode 155 due to the short between n-well 135 andcollector electrode 155. The diode conducts current induced by negative ESD events frompad 15 tosubstrate 100, and allowsIGBT 5 to dissipate voltages induced by negative ESD events. The use of the structures ofFIGS. 6 and 7 improves the response to negative ESD events versus that ofFIG. 4 . - Referring to
FIG. 8 , a graph of the current-voltage characteristics of a collector of a lateral insulated gatebipolar transistor 5 ofFIGS. 6 and 7 is illustrated. As the collector toemitter voltage 400 increases, it will snap-back at 410 asparasitic thyristor 180 latches-up, as described with respect toFIG. 5 . Also, as the voltage ongate 30 is increased, the latch-up voltage of theparasitic thyristor 180 decreases, as shown bygate voltage levels FIG. 5 . - A feature of the IGBT structures of
FIGS. 6 and 7 is collector conduction prior to the turn on ofpnp transistor 175, as shown by early current flows 435. - Although exemplary doping characteristics are discussed with respect to
FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, other doping including those that result in complimentary structures to those disclosed are possible and can be used in the circuits ofFIGS. 1 and 3 . For example, doping concentrations of 3×1016 for p-well 115 and 7×1016 for n-well 135 can be used. - Further, additional variations may be made to the IGBT structures discussed with respect to
FIGS. 4, 6 , and 7. For example, a p-well or p-body region, or complementary doping in a complementary IGBT, that is self-alligned withgate electrode 140 may be included. Also, for low voltage applications,field oxide 145 can be replaced with thin oxide. - Referring to
FIG. 9 , an enlarged cross-sectional view of a region in a well at the emitter of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor from any ofFIGS. 4, 6 , and 7 is illustrated. InFIG. 9 , aregion 500 and awell region 505 are illustrated.Region 500 has awidth 510 andlength 515, whilewell region 505 has adepth 520. The pinch resistance ofwell region 505 is then equal to:
where ρwell is the resistivity of the material that compriseswell region 505, L iswidth 510, W isdepth 520, and Z islength 515. By increasingwidth 510 ordepth 520, the resistance of thewell region 505 decreases, thereby increasing the latching current of theparasitic thyristor 180. Also, if the length ofregion 500 is decreased, then the resistance ofwell region 505 will also increase the latching currentparasitic thyristor 180. - Referring to
FIG. 10 , a cross-sectional view of a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor with leakage current reduction is illustrated. The IGBTs shown inFIGS. 4, 6 , and 7 each have a small leakage current on the surface of thepnp transistor 175. This leakage current, which is inherent to the structure of an IGBT, can cause erroneous latching of theparasitic thyristor 180 due to the leakage current that occurs prior to triggering ofcollector clamp 35. Inserting a punch throughreduction region 550 that forms a butting junction withcollector region 130 on the side offield oxide 145 can substantially reduce or eliminate the leakage current. This punch throughreduction region 550 should be of a complementary doping tocollector region 130, which for example would be an n-type punch through reduction region for a p+-type collector region. The punch throughreduction region 550 can be relatively small in width; in one embodiment, the width is no more than two (2) microns. The use of a punch throughreduction region 505 reduces inaccurate and premature latching of theparasitic thyristor 180. - Alternatively, to reduce the leakage current, a buffer region can be added to the n-well 135. The buffer region can be formed by heavily doping the portion of the n-well 135 abutting the
collector region 130. - Referring to
FIG. 11 , of apad 15 with an electrostatic discharge protection circuit fabricated upon it is illustrated.Pad 15 has atrace 700 that formsresistor 45 anddiffusions 705 that formcollector clamp 35, which is made up of a number of diodes.Diffusions 705 have a number ofcontacts 710 to pad 15. -
Gate 140, which has rounded corners as depicted, overlies n-well 135, p-well 115, andsecond emitter region 125. Each of n-well 135, p-well 115, andsecond emitter region 125 have a similar shape togate 140. A number ofcontacts 720 provide bonding to pad 15. -
Collector region 130 is diffused along a periphery ofpad 115 and also has a number orcontacts 720. - By fabricating
IGBT 5 on a pad, the ruggedness ofIGBT 5 is increased due to the charge distribution on the device. Further, the response time ofIGBT 5 improves by fabricating it onpad 15, thereby reducing the potential for damage to integrated circuits bonded to pad 15. In another embodiment,IGBT 5 is fabricated on at least two sides of one of the surfaces ofpad 15. - While
FIG. 11 depictsIGBT 5 in a substantially oval configuration, other configurations of IGBT can be used. For example, race-track, or configurations having multiple fingers can be used. Further,IGBT 5 can be fabricated on two or three sides of a surface ofpad 15. - Referring to
FIG. 12 is a graph of the direct current characteristics in response to an ESD event of the electrostaticdischarge protection circuit 2 fabricated on pad 15 (FIG. 11 ), when theparasitic thyristor 180 latches. As can be seen, the amount of time required to dissipate the large voltage atpad 15 is minimal. Specifically, the triggering ofparasitic thyristor 180 almost instantaneously reduces the voltage to a low holding voltage. Further,parasitic thyristor 180 snaps-back to the low holding voltage without damage to electrostaticdischarge protection circuit 2 andIGBT 5. - It should be noted that while
IGBT 5 is illustrated as a lateral IGBT inFIGS. 4, 6 , and 7, a vertical IGBT can also be utilized based upon the principles and utilizing the same region constituents as described herein. Further, it would be advantageous to use a vertical IGBT in an integrated ESD protection circuit. - Embodiments of ESD protection circuits and transistors capable of being used with the ESD circuits described herein are also depicted and described in a copending U.S. patent application entitled “Thick Gate Oxide Transistor And Electrostatic Discharge Protection Utilizing Thick Gate Oxide Transistors,” Ser. No. 10/336,202, which is assigned to the Assignee of the current application, and was filed on the same date (i.e., Jan. 3, 2003) as the present application.
- The detailed description provided above is merely illustrative, and is not intended to be limiting. While the embodiments, applications and advantages of the present inventions have been depicted and described, there are many more embodiments, applications and advantages possible without deviating from the spirit of the inventive concepts described and depicted herein. The invention should only be restricted in accordance with the spirit of the claims appended hereto and is not restricted by the embodiments, specification or drawings.
Claims (25)
1. An insulated gate bipolar transistor comprising:
a substrate;
a first well region within the substrate;
a collector region within the first well region;
a second well region within the substrate;
an first emitter region within the second well region;
a second emitter region within the second well region; and
a first electrode connected with the first well region and the collector region.
2. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 1 wherein the insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor.
3. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 2 wherein the insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises an isolation region located between the substrate and the first well region.
4. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 2 further comprising a punch through reduction region located substantially adjacent to the collector region.
5. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 4 wherein the punch through reduction region is approximately two microns in width.
6. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 2 further comprising a buffer region within the first well, the buffer region abutting the collector region.
7. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 1 wherein the insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a vertical gate bipolar transistor.
8. An insulated gate bipolar transistor comprising:
a substrate;
a first well region within the substrate;
a first collector region within the first well region;
a second collector region with the first well region;
a second well region within the substrate;
an first emitter region within the second well region; and
a second emitter region within the second well region.
9. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 8 wherein the insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor.
10. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 9 wherein the lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises an isolation region located between the substrate and first well region.
11. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 9 wherein the lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a third well region within the first well region.
12. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 9 wherein the lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises an isolation region located between the substrate and second well region.
13. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 9 further comprising a punch through reduction region located substantially adjacent to the collector region.
14. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 13 wherein the punch through reduction region is approximately 2 microns in width.
15. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 9 further comprising a buffer region within the first well, the buffer region abutting the first collector region.
16. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 8 wherein the insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a vertical insulated gate bipolar transistor.
17. An insulated gate bipolar transistor comprising:
a substrate;
a first well region within the substrate;
a collector region within the first well region;
a second well region within the substrate;
an first emitter region within the second well region;
a second emitter region within the second well region; and
a third well region within the first well region.
18. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 17 wherein the insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor.
19. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 18 wherein the lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises an isolation region located between the substrate and first well region.
20. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 18 wherein the lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises another collector region within the first well region.
21. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 18 wherein the lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises an isolation region located between the substrate and second well region.
22. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 18 further comprising a punch through reduction region located substantially adjacent to the collector region.
23. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 22 wherein the punch through reduction region is approximately 2 microns in width.
24. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 18 wherein the insulated gate bipolar transistor comprises a vertical gate bipolar transistor.
25. The insulated gate bipolar transistor of claim 18 further comprising a buffer region within the first well, the buffer region abutting the collector region.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/066,961 US20050167753A1 (en) | 2003-01-03 | 2005-02-25 | Insulated gate bipolar transistor and electrostatic discharge cell protection utilizing insulated gate bipolar tansistors |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/336,129 US6888710B2 (en) | 2003-01-03 | 2003-01-03 | Insulated gate bipolar transistor and electrostatic discharge cell protection utilizing insulated gate bipolar transistors |
US11/066,961 US20050167753A1 (en) | 2003-01-03 | 2005-02-25 | Insulated gate bipolar transistor and electrostatic discharge cell protection utilizing insulated gate bipolar tansistors |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/336,129 Division US6888710B2 (en) | 2003-01-03 | 2003-01-03 | Insulated gate bipolar transistor and electrostatic discharge cell protection utilizing insulated gate bipolar transistors |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20050167753A1 true US20050167753A1 (en) | 2005-08-04 |
Family
ID=32710928
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/336,129 Expired - Lifetime US6888710B2 (en) | 2003-01-03 | 2003-01-03 | Insulated gate bipolar transistor and electrostatic discharge cell protection utilizing insulated gate bipolar transistors |
US11/066,961 Abandoned US20050167753A1 (en) | 2003-01-03 | 2005-02-25 | Insulated gate bipolar transistor and electrostatic discharge cell protection utilizing insulated gate bipolar tansistors |
Family Applications Before (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/336,129 Expired - Lifetime US6888710B2 (en) | 2003-01-03 | 2003-01-03 | Insulated gate bipolar transistor and electrostatic discharge cell protection utilizing insulated gate bipolar transistors |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US6888710B2 (en) |
Cited By (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20080087912A1 (en) * | 2006-10-17 | 2008-04-17 | Saichirou Kaneko | Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same |
US20100219448A1 (en) * | 2009-03-02 | 2010-09-02 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Semiconductor device and semiconductor integrated circuit device for driving plasma display using the semiconductor device |
US20100302693A1 (en) * | 2009-05-28 | 2010-12-02 | Renesas Technology Corp. | Semiconductor integrated circuit device |
US20110220963A1 (en) * | 2010-03-09 | 2011-09-15 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | Method and apparatus of forming bipolar transistor device |
US20130075863A1 (en) * | 2011-09-27 | 2013-03-28 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | ESD Protection Apparatus |
US8816476B2 (en) | 2011-04-27 | 2014-08-26 | Alpha & Omega Semiconductor Corporation | Through silicon via processing techniques for lateral double-diffused MOSFETS |
US9337179B2 (en) * | 2014-09-04 | 2016-05-10 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Electrostatic discharge protection circuit |
US20230121127A1 (en) * | 2021-10-14 | 2023-04-20 | Globalfoundries Singapore Pte. Ltd. | High voltage electrostatic devices |
US11942472B2 (en) | 2021-09-15 | 2024-03-26 | Globalfoundries Singapore Pte. Ltd. | High-voltage electrostatic discharge devices |
US11978733B2 (en) | 2021-08-05 | 2024-05-07 | Globalfoundries Singapore Pte. Ltd. | High-voltage electrostatic discharge devices |
Families Citing this family (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20050083618A1 (en) * | 2003-10-21 | 2005-04-21 | Steinhoff Robert M. | ESD protection for integrated circuits |
US7586720B1 (en) * | 2004-12-02 | 2009-09-08 | Anadigics, Inc. | Electrostatic discharge protection device |
US7468537B2 (en) * | 2004-12-15 | 2008-12-23 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Drain extended PMOS transistors and methods for making the same |
US7244989B2 (en) * | 2005-06-02 | 2007-07-17 | Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. | Semiconductor device and method of manufacture |
US20090115018A1 (en) * | 2007-11-01 | 2009-05-07 | Alpha & Omega Semiconductor, Ltd | Transient voltage suppressor manufactured in silicon on oxide (SOI) layer |
EP2180517A1 (en) * | 2008-10-24 | 2010-04-28 | Epcos Ag | Pnp bipolar transistor with lateral collector and method of production |
US8164162B2 (en) * | 2009-06-11 | 2012-04-24 | Force Mos Technology Co., Ltd. | Power semiconductor devices integrated with clamp diodes sharing same gate metal pad |
DE102009046615A1 (en) * | 2009-11-11 | 2011-05-19 | Zf Friedrichshafen Ag | Circuit breaker arrangement for an inverter |
US8390969B2 (en) * | 2010-07-12 | 2013-03-05 | Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. | Smoke-free ESD protection structure used in integrated circuit devices |
US8692290B2 (en) | 2011-09-07 | 2014-04-08 | International Business Machines Corporation | Silicon controlled rectifier structure with improved junction breakdown and leakage control |
DE102014108913B4 (en) * | 2014-06-25 | 2021-09-30 | Infineon Technologies Ag | Insulated gate bipolar transistor device and semiconductor device |
US10063048B2 (en) * | 2015-12-30 | 2018-08-28 | Silicon Laboratories Inc. | Dynamic trigger voltage control for an ESD protection device |
WO2018000346A1 (en) * | 2016-06-30 | 2018-01-04 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Contact array optimization for esd devices |
US10978869B2 (en) * | 2016-08-23 | 2021-04-13 | Alpha And Omega Semiconductor Incorporated | USB type-C load switch ESD protection |
KR20190140220A (en) | 2018-06-11 | 2019-12-19 | 에스케이하이닉스 주식회사 | Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Device Having Electrostatic Discharge Protecting Circuit and Method of Manufacturing The same |
US11031778B2 (en) * | 2018-11-26 | 2021-06-08 | Silicon Laboratories Inc. | High-voltage tolerant bi-directional electrostatic discharge protection circuit |
FR3095891B1 (en) * | 2019-05-09 | 2023-01-13 | St Microelectronics Sa | Electric circuit |
Citations (35)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4109274A (en) * | 1975-11-05 | 1978-08-22 | Nikolai Mikhailovich Belenkov | Semiconductor switching device with breakdown diode formed in the bottom of a recess |
US4605980A (en) * | 1984-03-02 | 1986-08-12 | Zilog, Inc. | Integrated circuit high voltage protection |
US4745450A (en) * | 1984-03-02 | 1988-05-17 | Zilog, Inc. | Integrated circuit high voltage protection |
US4748533A (en) * | 1985-11-04 | 1988-05-31 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Integrated circuit for the protection of subscriber lines against overvoltages |
US4807080A (en) * | 1987-06-15 | 1989-02-21 | Zilog, Inc. | Integrated circuit electrostatic discharge input protection |
US5162888A (en) * | 1989-05-12 | 1992-11-10 | Western Digital Corporation | High DC breakdown voltage field effect transistor and integrated circuit |
US5374844A (en) * | 1993-03-25 | 1994-12-20 | Micrel, Inc. | Bipolar transistor structure using ballast resistor |
US5374843A (en) * | 1991-05-06 | 1994-12-20 | Silinconix, Inc. | Lightly-doped drain MOSFET with improved breakdown characteristics |
US5424226A (en) * | 1994-04-11 | 1995-06-13 | Xerox Corporation | Method of fabricating NMOS and PMOS FET's in a CMOS process |
US5504444A (en) * | 1994-01-24 | 1996-04-02 | Arithmos, Inc. | Driver circuits with extended voltage range |
US5528188A (en) * | 1995-03-13 | 1996-06-18 | International Business Machines Corporation | Electrostatic discharge suppression circuit employing low-voltage triggering silicon-controlled rectifier |
US5537075A (en) * | 1993-12-17 | 1996-07-16 | Sony Corporation | Semiconductor integrated circuit having isolated supply paths for circuit blocks |
US5546038A (en) * | 1995-06-30 | 1996-08-13 | Harris Corporation | SCR inductor transient clamp |
US5571737A (en) * | 1994-07-25 | 1996-11-05 | United Microelectronics Corporation | Metal oxide semiconductor device integral with an electro-static discharge circuit |
US5578860A (en) * | 1995-05-01 | 1996-11-26 | Motorola, Inc. | Monolithic high frequency integrated circuit structure having a grounded source configuration |
US5602404A (en) * | 1995-01-18 | 1997-02-11 | National Semiconductor Corporation | Low voltage triggering silicon controlled rectifier structures for ESD protection |
US5631793A (en) * | 1995-09-05 | 1997-05-20 | Winbond Electronics Corporation | Capacitor-couple electrostatic discharge protection circuit |
US5753920A (en) * | 1995-07-26 | 1998-05-19 | California Institute Of Technology | Integrated charge monitor |
US5844280A (en) * | 1995-12-30 | 1998-12-01 | Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd. | Device for protecting a semiconductor circuit |
US5870268A (en) * | 1997-10-22 | 1999-02-09 | Winbond Electronics Corp. | Early trigger of ESD protection device by a current spike generator |
US5959488A (en) * | 1998-01-24 | 1999-09-28 | Winbond Electronics Corp. | Dual-node capacitor coupled MOSFET for improving ESD performance |
US6013942A (en) * | 1997-04-04 | 2000-01-11 | Telefonakteibolaget Lm Ericsson | Bipolar transistor structure |
US6064109A (en) * | 1992-10-08 | 2000-05-16 | Sgs-Thomson Microelectronics, Inc. | Ballast resistance for producing varied emitter current flow along the emitter's injecting edge |
US6064249A (en) * | 1997-06-20 | 2000-05-16 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Lateral DMOS design for ESD protection |
US6097235A (en) * | 1999-02-09 | 2000-08-01 | United Microelectronics Corp. | Field device electrostatic discharge protective circuit |
US6133607A (en) * | 1997-05-22 | 2000-10-17 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Semiconductor device |
US6194764B1 (en) * | 1997-09-30 | 2001-02-27 | Infineon Technologies Ag | Integrated semiconductor circuit with protection structure for protecting against electrostatic discharge |
US6225649B1 (en) * | 1998-01-22 | 2001-05-01 | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha | Insulated-gate bipolar semiconductor device |
US20010025961A1 (en) * | 2000-03-03 | 2001-10-04 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Semiconductor device improved in ESD reliability |
US6320232B1 (en) * | 1997-09-30 | 2001-11-20 | Infineon Technologies Ag | Integrated semiconductor circuit with protective structure for protection against electrostatic discharge |
US6414532B1 (en) * | 2001-09-27 | 2002-07-02 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company | Gate ground circuit approach for I/O ESD protection |
US6437419B1 (en) * | 1999-11-29 | 2002-08-20 | Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation | Emitter ballast resistor with enhanced body effect to improve the short circuit withstand capability of power devices |
US6469560B1 (en) * | 2001-06-28 | 2002-10-22 | Faraday Technology Corp. | Electrostatic discharge protective circuit |
US20020163021A1 (en) * | 2001-05-04 | 2002-11-07 | Semiconductor Components Industries Llc | Low voltage transient voltage suppressor and method of making |
US6507471B2 (en) * | 2000-12-07 | 2003-01-14 | Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. | ESD protection devices |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5064249A (en) * | 1990-04-09 | 1991-11-12 | Hung Chun Mao | Disc wheel cover |
WO1996030936A1 (en) | 1995-03-27 | 1996-10-03 | Micrel, Incorporated | Self-alignment technique for semiconductor devices |
US5536958A (en) * | 1995-05-02 | 1996-07-16 | Motorola, Inc. | Semiconductor device having high voltage protection capability |
DE10117801B4 (en) * | 2001-04-10 | 2005-12-22 | Robert Bosch Gmbh | Semiconductor power device and corresponding manufacturing method |
-
2003
- 2003-01-03 US US10/336,129 patent/US6888710B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2005
- 2005-02-25 US US11/066,961 patent/US20050167753A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (35)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4109274A (en) * | 1975-11-05 | 1978-08-22 | Nikolai Mikhailovich Belenkov | Semiconductor switching device with breakdown diode formed in the bottom of a recess |
US4605980A (en) * | 1984-03-02 | 1986-08-12 | Zilog, Inc. | Integrated circuit high voltage protection |
US4745450A (en) * | 1984-03-02 | 1988-05-17 | Zilog, Inc. | Integrated circuit high voltage protection |
US4748533A (en) * | 1985-11-04 | 1988-05-31 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Integrated circuit for the protection of subscriber lines against overvoltages |
US4807080A (en) * | 1987-06-15 | 1989-02-21 | Zilog, Inc. | Integrated circuit electrostatic discharge input protection |
US5162888A (en) * | 1989-05-12 | 1992-11-10 | Western Digital Corporation | High DC breakdown voltage field effect transistor and integrated circuit |
US5374843A (en) * | 1991-05-06 | 1994-12-20 | Silinconix, Inc. | Lightly-doped drain MOSFET with improved breakdown characteristics |
US6064109A (en) * | 1992-10-08 | 2000-05-16 | Sgs-Thomson Microelectronics, Inc. | Ballast resistance for producing varied emitter current flow along the emitter's injecting edge |
US5374844A (en) * | 1993-03-25 | 1994-12-20 | Micrel, Inc. | Bipolar transistor structure using ballast resistor |
US5537075A (en) * | 1993-12-17 | 1996-07-16 | Sony Corporation | Semiconductor integrated circuit having isolated supply paths for circuit blocks |
US5504444A (en) * | 1994-01-24 | 1996-04-02 | Arithmos, Inc. | Driver circuits with extended voltage range |
US5424226A (en) * | 1994-04-11 | 1995-06-13 | Xerox Corporation | Method of fabricating NMOS and PMOS FET's in a CMOS process |
US5571737A (en) * | 1994-07-25 | 1996-11-05 | United Microelectronics Corporation | Metal oxide semiconductor device integral with an electro-static discharge circuit |
US5602404A (en) * | 1995-01-18 | 1997-02-11 | National Semiconductor Corporation | Low voltage triggering silicon controlled rectifier structures for ESD protection |
US5528188A (en) * | 1995-03-13 | 1996-06-18 | International Business Machines Corporation | Electrostatic discharge suppression circuit employing low-voltage triggering silicon-controlled rectifier |
US5578860A (en) * | 1995-05-01 | 1996-11-26 | Motorola, Inc. | Monolithic high frequency integrated circuit structure having a grounded source configuration |
US5546038A (en) * | 1995-06-30 | 1996-08-13 | Harris Corporation | SCR inductor transient clamp |
US5753920A (en) * | 1995-07-26 | 1998-05-19 | California Institute Of Technology | Integrated charge monitor |
US5631793A (en) * | 1995-09-05 | 1997-05-20 | Winbond Electronics Corporation | Capacitor-couple electrostatic discharge protection circuit |
US5844280A (en) * | 1995-12-30 | 1998-12-01 | Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd. | Device for protecting a semiconductor circuit |
US6013942A (en) * | 1997-04-04 | 2000-01-11 | Telefonakteibolaget Lm Ericsson | Bipolar transistor structure |
US6133607A (en) * | 1997-05-22 | 2000-10-17 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Semiconductor device |
US6064249A (en) * | 1997-06-20 | 2000-05-16 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Lateral DMOS design for ESD protection |
US6194764B1 (en) * | 1997-09-30 | 2001-02-27 | Infineon Technologies Ag | Integrated semiconductor circuit with protection structure for protecting against electrostatic discharge |
US6320232B1 (en) * | 1997-09-30 | 2001-11-20 | Infineon Technologies Ag | Integrated semiconductor circuit with protective structure for protection against electrostatic discharge |
US5870268A (en) * | 1997-10-22 | 1999-02-09 | Winbond Electronics Corp. | Early trigger of ESD protection device by a current spike generator |
US6225649B1 (en) * | 1998-01-22 | 2001-05-01 | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha | Insulated-gate bipolar semiconductor device |
US5959488A (en) * | 1998-01-24 | 1999-09-28 | Winbond Electronics Corp. | Dual-node capacitor coupled MOSFET for improving ESD performance |
US6097235A (en) * | 1999-02-09 | 2000-08-01 | United Microelectronics Corp. | Field device electrostatic discharge protective circuit |
US6437419B1 (en) * | 1999-11-29 | 2002-08-20 | Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation | Emitter ballast resistor with enhanced body effect to improve the short circuit withstand capability of power devices |
US20010025961A1 (en) * | 2000-03-03 | 2001-10-04 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Semiconductor device improved in ESD reliability |
US6507471B2 (en) * | 2000-12-07 | 2003-01-14 | Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. | ESD protection devices |
US20020163021A1 (en) * | 2001-05-04 | 2002-11-07 | Semiconductor Components Industries Llc | Low voltage transient voltage suppressor and method of making |
US6469560B1 (en) * | 2001-06-28 | 2002-10-22 | Faraday Technology Corp. | Electrostatic discharge protective circuit |
US6414532B1 (en) * | 2001-09-27 | 2002-07-02 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company | Gate ground circuit approach for I/O ESD protection |
Cited By (15)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20080087912A1 (en) * | 2006-10-17 | 2008-04-17 | Saichirou Kaneko | Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same |
US8384124B2 (en) * | 2009-03-02 | 2013-02-26 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Semiconductor device and semiconductor integrated circuit device for driving plasma display using the semiconductor device |
US20100219448A1 (en) * | 2009-03-02 | 2010-09-02 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Semiconductor device and semiconductor integrated circuit device for driving plasma display using the semiconductor device |
US20100302693A1 (en) * | 2009-05-28 | 2010-12-02 | Renesas Technology Corp. | Semiconductor integrated circuit device |
US8461621B2 (en) * | 2010-03-09 | 2013-06-11 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | Method and apparatus of forming bipolar transistor device |
US20110220963A1 (en) * | 2010-03-09 | 2011-09-15 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | Method and apparatus of forming bipolar transistor device |
US8816476B2 (en) | 2011-04-27 | 2014-08-26 | Alpha & Omega Semiconductor Corporation | Through silicon via processing techniques for lateral double-diffused MOSFETS |
US20130075863A1 (en) * | 2011-09-27 | 2013-03-28 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | ESD Protection Apparatus |
US8853825B2 (en) * | 2011-09-27 | 2014-10-07 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | ESD protection apparatus |
US9224727B2 (en) | 2011-09-27 | 2015-12-29 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | ESD protection apparatus |
US9337179B2 (en) * | 2014-09-04 | 2016-05-10 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Electrostatic discharge protection circuit |
US11978733B2 (en) | 2021-08-05 | 2024-05-07 | Globalfoundries Singapore Pte. Ltd. | High-voltage electrostatic discharge devices |
US11942472B2 (en) | 2021-09-15 | 2024-03-26 | Globalfoundries Singapore Pte. Ltd. | High-voltage electrostatic discharge devices |
US20230121127A1 (en) * | 2021-10-14 | 2023-04-20 | Globalfoundries Singapore Pte. Ltd. | High voltage electrostatic devices |
US11990466B2 (en) * | 2021-10-14 | 2024-05-21 | Globalfoundries Singapore Pte. Ltd. | High voltage electrostatic devices |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20040137690A1 (en) | 2004-07-15 |
US6888710B2 (en) | 2005-05-03 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US20050167753A1 (en) | Insulated gate bipolar transistor and electrostatic discharge cell protection utilizing insulated gate bipolar tansistors | |
US20050139958A1 (en) | Thick gate oxide transistor and electrostatic discharge protection utilizing thick gate oxide transistors | |
US10062682B1 (en) | Low capacitance bidirectional transient voltage suppressor | |
US10964686B2 (en) | Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing semiconductor device | |
US6605844B2 (en) | Semiconductor device | |
JP3911566B2 (en) | MOS type semiconductor device | |
US5079608A (en) | Power MOSFET transistor circuit with active clamp | |
EP0505191B1 (en) | Semiconductor device with low concentration n region to improve dV/dt capability | |
US6614077B2 (en) | Semiconductor device improved in ESD reliability | |
US5932914A (en) | Semiconductor protection device formed inside a well having contact with a buried layer | |
US7985983B2 (en) | Semiconductor ESD device and method of making same | |
US8638533B2 (en) | Semiconductor device | |
US6864537B1 (en) | Thick gate oxide transistor and electrostatic discharge protection utilizing thick gate oxide transistors | |
JP4421073B2 (en) | Semiconductor device protection circuit and method | |
US20140042544A1 (en) | Semiconductor device | |
US6631060B2 (en) | Field oxide device with zener junction for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection and other applications | |
JP4431761B2 (en) | MOS type semiconductor device | |
JP3186405B2 (en) | Horizontal MOSFET | |
KR100276495B1 (en) | Polarity-reversal protecion for integrated electronic circuits in cmos technology | |
US5138413A (en) | Piso electrostatic discharge protection device | |
US6680493B1 (en) | ESD protective transistor | |
CN111180509B (en) | Junction field effect transistor and electrostatic discharge structure thereof | |
US20230418319A1 (en) | Semiconductor transistors having minimum gate-to-source voltage clamp circuits | |
JP2656045B2 (en) | Electrostatic discharge protection circuit | |
CN114914304A (en) | LDMOS device with high ballast resistance, silicon controlled rectifier device and electronic equipment |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |