A novel ESD protection technique for submicron CMOS/BiCMOS technologies

In this paper, we present a novel electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device. When an ESD pulse attacks, this device is activated as either a reverse-biased punchthrough BJT or a forward-biased diode, depending on the polarity of the input pulse. Experimental results (based on the Human-Body Model) show that the new protection device is more efficient and area-effective than any other conventional one. It does not require any extra mask for its implementation because of the compatibility with established processes. Thus we believe that it is a viable approach for the protection of submicron CMOS/BiCMOS devices and circuits vulnerable to ESD stress.