New ESD protection schemes for BiCMOS processes with application to cellular radio designs

A new electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection network that allows arbitrary combinations of BiCMOS circuit components to be protected is described along with a methodology for designing ESD protection circuitry. The methodology is predictive, and can be simulated on SPICE. Results from 900 MHz cellular radio ICs fabricated in a 1 μm 13 GHz F_T BiCMOS process verified the new techniques. A new crowbar power-to-ground clamp capable of nondestructively sinking 5 A of ESD current in 100 ps is described. The clamp voltage was bandgap referenced and therefore stabilized against process variations. All ESD network components were produced with the standard fabrication flow