Integrated circuit protected against electrostatic discharges, with variable protection threshold
US4890187A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 28, 1988 |
| Grant date | Dec 26, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 28, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH10D89/601
Abstract
To protect integrated circuits as efficiently as possible against electrostatic discharges, by putting a diode in avalanche mode without untimely triggering of this avalance mode by overvoltages of non-electrostatic origin, the following solution is proposed: through an insulated gate surrounding the cathode of the diode, the threshold for transition into avalanche mode of the diode is modified according to the slope of the overvoltages appearing at the terminal to be protected. The gate is connected to the terminal by an integrating circuit in such a way that the overvoltages are applied to the gate with a certain delay, inducing a potential difference between the cathode and the gate which is all the greater as the front of the overvoltage is steep. The avalanche triggering threshold is higher in the latter case than in the former one, and it is thus distinguish between overvoltages of diverse origins.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.