Cypress Semiconductor Corporation

Boo Chin-Hua

Timothy John Williams

Eric N Mann

Toru Miyamae

Ravindra Manohar Kapre

David Michael Rogers

Sungkwon Lee

Dung Ho

Yan Yi

Eric Lee Swindlehurst

Mimi Xuefeng Zhao Qian

Ryuta Nagai

An electrostatic discharge protection circuit capable of clamping both positive and negative ESD events and passing signals is provided. Generally, the circuit includes a p-channel field-effect transistor (PFET) clamp coupled to a pin to be protected, the PFET clamp including a plurality of PFETs in a DN-well, an n-channel field-effect transistors (NFET) clamp coupled between ground and the pin through the PFET clamp, the NFET clamp including a plurality of NFETs coupled in series, and a bias network for biasing a voltage of the DN well to substantially equal a voltage on the pin when the voltage on the pin is greater than ground potential, and to ground potential when the pin voltage is less than ground potential. The plurality of are PFETs coupled in parallel between the pin and the NFET clamp, each of the PFETs is coupled to the pin though one of a plurality ballast resistors.

ESD protection circuit

Growing community of inventors

Penang, Malaysia

Boo Chin-Hua