The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 08, 1987
Filed:
Jun. 06, 1984
Robert N Rountree, Richmond, TX (US);
Troy H Herndon, Houston, TX (US);
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
An input protection circuit for an MOS device uses a thick-oxide transistor connected as a diode between a metal bonding pad and ground. The channel width of this transistor is chosen to be sufficient to withstand large, short-duration current spikes caused by electrostatic discharge. More important, the spacing between a metal-to-silicon contact to the drain of this transistor and the channel of the transistor (where heat is generated), is chosen to be much larger than usual so the metal of the contact will not be melted by heat propagating along the silicon surface during the current spike due to ESD. This spacing feature also applies to circuits for output pads, or circuits using diode protection devices.