Monolithic microwave integrated circuit terminal protection device
US4891730A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 10, 1989 |
| Grant date | Jan 2, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 10, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/3011
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A monolithic microwave integrated circuit is enclosed within an ionizable gas filled housing having a terminal protection device integral with the circuit's substrate. A photon generating region extends within the substrate and along a portion of the surface area of the substrate for facilitating the ionizing of the gas. First and second electrodes, in contact with the substrate surface area and disposed on opposite sides of the photon generating region, have a plurality of cantilevered protrusions extending over the surface of the substrate and equally spaced from one another forming spark-gaps therebetween. One electrode is connected to an input to the device while the other is connected to ground. When a potential difference between the first and second electrodes increases towards a predetermined value, due to high RF input energy, the photon generating region is operatively biased to emit photons, which ionize the gas, resulting in a voltage discharge across the spark-gaps to occur quickly and at a lower voltage than the semiconductor breakdown voltage.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.