Texas Instruments Corporation

The University of Texas System

Muhammad Yusuf Ali

Xianzhi Dai

Mahalingam Nandakumar

Akram Ali Salman

Farzan Farbiz

Alan Erik Segervall

Rajkumar Sankaralingam

Robert Callaghan Taft

James Paul Di Sarro

Aravind Chennimalai Appaswamy

Gianluca Boselli

Charles M Branch

Krishna Praveen Mysore Rajagopal

Masahiro Yoshioka

Meng Tao

Kevin Ryan Duke

An electronic device, e.g. integrated circuit, has an n-type region and a p-type region located within a semiconductor substrate, the n-type region and the p-type region each intersecting the substrate surface. A dielectric structure is located directly on the substrate surface. The dielectric structure has first and second laterally opposed sides, with the first side located over the n-type region and the second side located over the p-type region.

Dielectric spaced diode

A two-wire current loop system includes a current loop with a transmitter and a host. The system also includes a monolithic integrated circuit included with the transmitter. The monolithic integrated circuit includes: 1) a power supply terminal coupled to the current loop; 2) a loop ground terminal coupled to the current loop and configured to output a current to the current loop; 3) device circuitry with a power supply node and an internal ground node, wherein the power supply node is coupled to the power supply terminal; and 4) a reverse wiring protection circuit coupled between the internal ground node of the device circuitry and the loop ground terminal.

Integrated power-ground reverse wiring protection circuit

An electronic device, e.g. an integrated circuit, is formed on a P-type lightly-doped semiconductor substrate having an N-type buried layer. First and second N-wells extend from a surface of the substrate to the buried layer. A first NSD region is located within the first N-well, and a second NSD region is located within the second N-well. A PSD region extends from the substrate surface into the substrate and is located between the first and second NSD regions. A P-type lightly-doped portion of the substrate is located between the N-well and the substrate surface and between the PSD region and the first and second NSD regions.

A semiconductor device has a protected node and a reference node, and a bi-directional ESD structure electrically coupled between the protected node and the reference node. The bi-directional ESD structure includes a main transistor electrically coupled between the protected node and the reference node, an upper control transistor with current nodes electrically coupled between the protected node and a control node of the main transistor, and a lower control transistor with current nodes electrically coupled between the reference node and a control node of the main transistor. The bi-directional ESD structure also includes an upper trigger network configured to provide a transient on-state signal to the upper control transistor from a positive electrical pulse on the protected node. The bi-directional ESD structure further includes a lower trigger network configured to provide a transient on-state signal to the lower control transistor from a negative electrical pulse on the protected node.

Area-efficient bi-directional ESD structure

In accordance with at least one embodiment, an ESD device comprises: a semiconductor; a pad; a ground rail; a p-well formed in the semiconductor; a first p-type region formed in the p-well and electrically coupled to the ground rail; a first n-type region formed in the p-well and electrically coupled to the pad; a second n-type region formed in the p-well and electrically coupled to the ground rail; an n-well formed in the semiconductor; a first n-type region formed in the n-well; a first p-type region formed in the n-well and electrically coupled to the pad; and a second p-type region formed in the n-well and electrically coupled to the first n-type region formed in the n-well.

Electrostatic discharge devices

Disclosed examples include integrated circuits, fabrication methods and ESD protection circuits to selectively conduct current between a protected node and a reference node during an ESD event, including a protection transistor, a first diode and a resistor formed in a first region of a semiconductor structure, and a second diode formed in a second region isolated from the first region by a polysilicon filled deep trench, where the first and second diodes include cathodes formed by deep N wells alongside the deep trench in the respective first and second regions to use integrated deep trench diode rings to set the ESD protection trigger voltage and prevent a parasitic deep N well/P buried layer junction from breakdown at lower than the rated voltage of the host circuitry.

ESD protection circuit with integral deep trench trigger diodes

In some examples, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) device comprises an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) comprising a source terminal, an anode terminal, a gate terminal, and a body terminal; and at least one reverse bias device comprising a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the first terminal couples to the source terminal and the second terminal couples to the body terminal.

IGBT coupled to a reverse bias device in series

An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit includes a high power supply rail (VDD) and a low power supply rail (VSS). The ESD protection circuit further includes an active shunt transistor coupled between VDD and VSS. The active shunt transistor includes a gate. The ESD protection circuit also includes a sensing transistor connected between an input/output (I/O) pad and the gate of the active shunt transistor. If an ESD stress event occurs on the I/O pad or on a VDD pad, the sensing transistor is caused to be turned ON thereby permitting a voltage on the I/O or VDD pad experiencing the ESD stress event to turn ON the active shunt transistor in turn causing ESD current to flow from the pad experiencing the ESD event, through VDD, and through the active shunt transistor to VSS.

Area-efficient active-FET ESD protection circuit

An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection integrated circuit (IC) includes a substrate having a semiconductor surface, a high power supply rail (VDD) and a low power supply rail (VSS) on the semiconductor surface. A trigger circuit including at least one trigger input and at least one trigger output is coupled between VDD and VSS. An active shunt including at least a large MOSFET is coupled between VDD and VSS. The trigger output is coupled to a gate electrode of the large MOSFET, and at least one diode or diode connected transistor (blocking diode) is coupled between VDD and the trigger circuit, within the trigger circuit or between the trigger output and gate electrode.

Active ESD protection circuit with blocking diode

An inverter type level shifter includes a first power supply voltage and a first ground voltage. A first inverter operates on the first power supply voltage and the first ground voltage to generate a first inverter output. The first inverter includes a first PMOS transistor having a drain coupled to a source of a blocking PMOS transistor and a first NMOS transistor having a drain coupled to a source of a blocking NMOS transistor. The level shifter further includes a second power supply voltage and a second ground voltage, and a second inverter coupled to the first inverter output and operates on the second power supply voltage and the second ground voltage. The blocking PMOS provides the required blocking on the event of the voltage spike in the second power supply voltage w.r.t the first power supply voltage and the blocking NMOS transistor provides the required blocking on the event of the voltage spike in the second ground voltage with respect to the first ground voltage.

ESD robust level shifter

Compositions and methods are provided herein that include modifications to at least one surface of a silicon-based semiconductor material. Modifications occur in a liquid and comprise alterations of surface states, passivation, cleaning and/or etching of the surface, thereby providing an improved surface to the semiconductor material. Modifications of surface states include reduction or elimination of an electrically active state of the surface, wherein, at the atomic level, the surface binding characteristics are changed. Passivation includes the termination of dangling bonds on the surface of the semiconductor material.

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Allen, TX, United States of America

Muhammad Yusuf Ali