MOSs-String-Triggered Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (MTSCR) ESD Protection Device for 1.8 V Application

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Semiconductor Device Physics
• Integrated Circuit Design

Background:

• Low-voltage integrated circuits require effective electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection to prevent damage.
• Existing ESD protection components, such as diodes-string-triggered SCR (DTSCR), face challenges in balancing performance and area.
• The need for compact and efficient ESD solutions is critical in modern CMOS technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and characterize a new low voltage-triggered Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR) named MTSCR.
• To evaluate the MTSCR's performance, particularly its trigger voltage and holding voltage.
• To compare the MTSCR with existing ESD protection components in terms of efficiency and area.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of the MTSCR using a standard 65 nm CMOS process.
• Implementation of an external NMOS string to drive the internal NMOS (INMOS) and subsequently the SCR structure.
• Characterization using Transmission Line Pulsing (TLP) measurements to assess electrical parameters.

Main Results:

• The MTSCR achieves a low trigger voltage (V_t1) of approximately 5.03 V.
• The MTSCR demonstrates a holding voltage (V_h) above 2.42 V.
• A significant area reduction of approximately 44.3% compared to the DTSCR was achieved while maintaining similar low V_t1 characteristics.

Conclusions:

• The MTSCR provides an effective low voltage-triggered ESD protection solution for integrated circuits.
• Its superior area efficiency makes it highly suitable for 1.8 V input/output (I/O) ports in CMOS technologies.
• The MTSCR offers a promising alternative for next-generation low-voltage ESD protection designs.