Power-Clamp-Triggered SCR for Broadband RF ESD Protection

A compact electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit using silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs) for radio frequency (RF) <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$I$</tex-math> </inline-formula>/O interfaces is proposed and implemented in the TSMC 0.18-<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu $</tex-math> </inline-formula>m CMOS process. The design ensures robust ESD protection by enabling discharge through multiple paths between the <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$I$</tex-math> </inline-formula>/O pins and power rails. To mitigate the parasitic capacitance introduced by the SCRs, an inductor is integrated for compensation. As a result, the proposed circuit achieves comprehensive ESD protection while preserving high signal integrity and minimizing chip area, making it a highly efficient solution for high-frequency applications.