Texas Instruments Corporation

Ekanayake Ajith Amerasekera

Anuj Batra

Amitava Chatterjee

Charvaka Duvvury

Clive D Bittlestone

Srinivas Lingam

Gianluca Boselli

Vijay Kumar Reddy

Kit Wing S Lee

Sridhar Ramaswamy

Jerold A Seitchik

Ping Yang

An integrated circuit (IC) includes self-calibrating programmable digital logic circuitry. The IC includes at least one programmable digital logic cell, wherein the first programmable digital logic cell provides (i) a plurality of different accessible circuit configurations or (ii) a voltage level controller. A self-calibration system is provided that includes at least one reference device, a measurement device for measuring at least one electrical performance parameter that can affect a processing speed of the first programmable digital logic cell or at least one parameter that can affect the electrical performance parameter using the reference device to obtain calibration data. A processing device maps the calibration data or a parameter derived therefrom to generate a control signal that is operable to select from the plurality of different accessible circuit configurations or a voltage level output to change the processing speed of the programmable digital logic cell.

Localized calibration of programmable digital logic cells

An integrated circuit (IC) includes at least one programmable digital logic cell that includes first dedicated digital logic cell having a plurality of transistors including at least one PMOS transistor and at least one NMOS transistor configured to perform at least one digital logical function. The first dedicated digital logic cell includes a plurality of nodes including at least one input node and at least one output node that reflects performance of a digital logical function. Programmable tuning circuitry includes at least one tuning input and at least one tuning circuit output. Circuitry for coupling or decoupling the tuning input or tuning circuit output to at least one of the plurality of nodes of the first dedicated digital logical cell is provided, wherein the coupling or decoupling is operable to change the processing speed for the first reprogrammable digital logic cell.

IC having programmable digital logic cells

A PMOS ESD protection device is disclosed in which gate and substrate coupling techniques are implemented to afford protection during positive ESD events. A snapback leg in curves capable of being produced in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention is removed, and a trigger voltage at which the device turns on is thereby reduced so as to be less than a second voltage corresponding to a second breakdown region.

PMOS electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device

A pMOS transistor () is located in an n-well () and has at least one gate (). Transistor () is connected between power pad Vdd or I/O pad () and ground potential Vss (). Gate () is connected to power pad (). The n-well () is capacitively () coupled to ground (), decoupled from the transistor source () and floating under normal operating conditions. Under an ESD event, the diode formed by the source () and the n-well () is forward biased (n-well negatively biased) to turn on the lateral pnp transistor to discharge the ESD current. The well voltage keeps increasing up to the value that triggers the lateral bipolar pnp transistor. The ESD protection is scalable with the width of gate (), improving with shrinking gate width.

Efficient pMOS ESD protection circuit

An ESD protection circuit for dual 3V/5V supply devices. ESD protection circuit 10 comprises a switching element 12 connected between a bond pad 14 and primary protection device 16. Primary protection device 16 comprises MOS circuitry designed for 3V operation that suffers from oxide reliability problems when 5V signals are applied directly. Switching element 12 separates the primary protection device 16 from 5V signals which may appear at bond pad 14.

ESD protection circuit for dual 3V/5V supply devices using single

A bistable SCR-like switch (41) protects a signal line (65) of an SOI integrated circuit (40) against damage from ESD events. The bistable SCR-like switch (41) is provided by a first and a second transistors (42 and 44) which are formed upon the insulator layer (46) of the SOI circuit (40) and are separated from one another by an insulating region (60). Interconnections (62 and 64) extend between the two transistors (42 and 44) to connect a P region (62) of a first transistor (42) to a P region (54) of the second transistor (44) and an N region (50) of the first transistor (42) to an N region (58) of the second transistor (44). The transistors (42 and 44) may be either bipolar transistors or enhancement type MOSFET transistors. For bipolar transistors, the base of an NPN transistor (42) is connected to the collector of a PNP transistor (44) and the base of the PNP transistor (44) is connected to the collector of the NPN transistor (42). MOSFET transistors are similarity connected, with the intermediate portion of the P-well (43) forming channel region of the N-channel transistor (42) connected to the drain of the P-channel transistor (44), and the N-well (45) forming the channel region of the P-channel transistor (44) connected to the drain of the N-channel transistor (42). Resistors (72 and 74) can be connected between the two transistors (42 and 44) to determine the trigger and holding voltages for the bistable SCR-like switch (41).

Bistable SCR-like switch for ESD protection of silicon-on-insulator

An embodiment of the instant invention is a method of optimizing an I/O circuit formed on a substrate with regards to an overvoltage or ESD event wherein the I/O circuit comprises at least one MOS device which has I-V characteristics, the method comprising the steps of: extracting selective electrical characteristics of the MOS device while the MOS device is operating in the avalanche and snapback regions of the I-V characteristics of the MOS device; characterizing the MOS device for the overvoltage or ESD event based on the electrical characteristics of the MOS device under standard operating conditions, the MOS device being comprised of a parasitic bipolar transistor and the substrate having a resistance; and wherein the I/O circuit is optimized for the overvoltage or ESD events by modifying the I/O circuit based on the electrical characteristics of the MOS device in conjunction with the characterization of the parasitic bipolar transistor and the substrate resistance.

Method and system for extracting high current parasitic bipolar

A protection device comprising a gate-coupled silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) (100), SCR (100) comprises an anode (105) formed in n-well (104) and connected to a pad (128) and a cathode (111) connected to ground. A gate-coupled NMOS transistor (120) has a gate (116) connected through a resistive element (118) to ground. A n+ region (112) forms both the cathode (111) and a source of the NMOS transistor (120). N-well (104) forms the drain. Stress voltage is coupled from pad (128) to gate electrode (116) causing NMOS transistor (120) to conduct. This, in turn, triggers SCR (100) which dissipates the stress current at the pad (128). The coupled voltage at gate electrode (116) dissipates within a designed time constant through resistive element (118).

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Plano, TX, United States of America

Ekanayake Ajith Amerasekera