π-Shape ESD Protection Design for Multi-Gbps High-Speed Circuits in CMOS Technology

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Semiconductor Device Physics

Background:

• Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits are susceptible to damage from electrostatic discharge (ESD).
• Effective on-chip ESD protection is crucial for both individual components and complete systems.
• High-speed applications, operating at multi-gigabits per second (Gbps), demand specialized ESD protection solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and propose novel on-chip ESD protection circuit designs for multi-Gbps high-speed CMOS applications.
• To enhance the electrostatic discharge robustness and operational performance of integrated circuits.

Main Methods:

• Design and fabrication of π-shaped ESD protection circuit structures using CMOS technology.
• Implementation of stacked diodes with an embedded silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR).
• Development of resistor-triggered SCR designs for ESD protection.

Main Results:

• The proposed π-shaped ESD protection circuits demonstrated superior ESD robustness compared to conventional designs.
• The embedded SCR and resistor-triggered SCR structures exhibited enhanced performance in high-speed applications.
• Fabricated test circuits validated the effectiveness of the proposed ESD protection strategies.

Conclusions:

• The developed π-shaped ESD protection circuits offer a viable solution for safeguarding high-speed CMOS integrated circuits against electrostatic discharge.
• The integration of stacked diodes with SCRs and resistor-triggered SCRs significantly improves ESD tolerance and maintains signal integrity.
• These findings contribute to the reliability and longevity of advanced electronic systems operating at high data rates.