Method and apparatus for creating a reliable long RC time constant

US6777755B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. · US

Inventors

• Guy Humphrey · Fort Collins, US
• Richard A Krzyzlowski · Fort Collins, US
• C. Stephen Dondale · Fort Collins, US
• Jason Gonzalez · Fort Collins, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 5, 2001
• Grant date: Aug 17, 2004
• Expiry date: Jul 8, 2022

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H10D89/819

Abstract

An electrostatic discharge (ESD) structure for use in an integrated circuit (IC). The ESD structure comprises a metallic resistor and a metallic capacitor that are electrically coupled in series to form a resistor-capacitor (RC) component having an appropriate RC time constant. The RC component maintains a level of charge between ground and a shunt node to ensure that, during an ESD event, electrostatic charge on a power supply, VDD, associated with the ESD structure is shunted via a shunt path from said power supply VDD to said ground. By using metal to create the metal resistor and capacitor, charge leakage problems that result from parasitic capacitance associated with using an RC component comprised of either a poly, active, or nwell resistor in combination a diode are eliminated. By eliminating such charge leakage problems, a more reliable RC component, and thus a more reliable RC time constant, are obtained.