Active-source-pump (ASP) technique for ESD design window expansion and ultra-thin gate oxide protection in sub-90nm technologies

This paper presents a novel active-source-pump (ASP) circuit technique to significantly lower the ESD sensitivity of ultrathin gate inputs in advanced sub-90nm CMOS technologies. As demonstrated by detailed experimental analysis, an ESD design window expansion of more than 100% can be achieved. This revives conventional ESD solutions for ultrasensitive input protection also enabling low-capacitance RF protection schemes with a high ESD design flexibility at IC-level. ASP IC application examples, and the impact of ASP on normal RF operation performance, are discussed.