A diode-triggered silicon-controlled rectifier with small diode width for electrostatic discharge applications

Abstract

In this letter, a diode trigger silicon-controlled rectifier (DTSCR) with small diode width is proposed for Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection of the low-voltage integrated circuits. The trigger voltage of DTSCR is adjusted by the width of the diodes which are used to trigger on the SCR device. Experimental data show the trigger voltage increases with decreasing the area of the diodes. The trigger voltage of the DTSCR with small diode width can increase 0.75V compared to that with large diode width. This method can increase the trigger voltage of the DTSCR with reducing the chip area.