Post-Si Programmable ESD Protection Circuit Design: Mechanisms and Analysis

This paper reports new mechanisms, design, and analysis of novel electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection solutions, which enable post-Si field-programmable ESD protection circuit design for the first time. Two new ESD protection concepts, nano-crystal quantum-dot (NC-QD) and silicon–oxide–nitride–oxide–silicon (SONOS)-based ESD protection, are presented. Experiments validated the two new programmable ESD protection mechanisms. Prototype designs demonstrated a wide adjustable ESD triggering voltage(V_t1)range ofΔV_t1~ 2 V, very fast response(t₁)to ESD transients of rising timetᵣ~ 100 pSand pulse durationtd~ 1 nS, ESD protection capability(I_t2)of at least 25mA/for human body model (HBM) and 400mA/for charged device model (CDM) equivalent stressing, and very low leakage current(Iₗₑₐₖ)as low as 1.2 pA. Field-programmable ESD protection circuit design examples are discussed.