Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuits

SABUJ CHAKI (2023H1230184H)

Definition: Electrostatic Discharge, or ESD, is the momentary flow of electric

current between two electrically charged objects. Electrostatic discharge can be
due to contact, dielectric breakdown, or an electrical short.

WHY ESD PROTECTION CIRCUIT IS IMPORTANT?

When two charged items come into touch, a sudden release of electricity is known as
an electrostatic discharge (ESD). Most ESD impacts are very innocuous to humans, yet
we've all encountered ESD when we've been shocked by a metal doorknob or car door.
However, the high peak voltage and current of these ESD strikes might result in
catastrophic failures for sensitive integrated circuits (ICs). The high voltage of an ESD
hit via an interface connection would cause a sizable current spike to flow straight into
the IC, inflicting damage, if the system does not include ESD protection.ESD protection
diodes are fitted to each signal line between the interface connector and the integrated
circuit (IC) to shield delicate circuitry against electrical overstress failures. The IC would
be protected in the case of an ESD strike by the breakdown of the ESD diode, which
would produce a low impedance channel that minimizes the peak voltage and current
by directing the current flow to ground. The following charts contrast the peak voltage of
an ESD strike on a signal line with ESD diode protection (blue) with that of a typical
ESD attack on an unprotected line (red).

Degrees of ESD Failure:-

Soft Failure - Change in internal logic, data stream corruption. Temporary in nature.

Latent Defect - Components damaged by ESD. Functionality degrades over time, resulting in
premature failure.

Catastrophic Failure - ESD completely damages the component.

ESD can be classified as:

Device-level ESD:- Occurs in an assembled semiconductor in an ESD-controlled environment.It

is more detrimental than System level ESD.

System-level ESD:- It Affects a finished electronic product.

ESD protection circuits-

Finding the locations where ESD will impact critical components is the first step in designing an
ESD protection circuit. Suppression techniques or shunting circuits are then added to make sure
the ESD voltage never rises above a predetermined level. The most straightforward and popular
technique for this is to utilize reverse biased diodes as shunt elements pointing in the direction
of the ground net.

1. TVS Diodes - Among the most popular low voltage, non-industrial TVS diode protection
circuits TVS surge diode protectors can offer better voltage suppression than conventional ESD
protection components included in power management ICs or microcontrollers. They can also
be positioned close to I/Os or any other ESD source.

During the event of an ESD pulse the diode provides a low impedance path , which diverts the
major current through it and avoids device breakdown.
2. Dual Schottky Diodes-

Dual Schottky diodes are another intriguing ESD protection circuit that we occasionally utilize.
Assign one to the input voltage rail and the other to ground. This differs from the TVS method in
that power is dumped to the positive rail rather than ground in the event of a positive voltage
spike. This implies that a low impedance power distribution network needs to be in place for this
strategy to succeed.

APPILCATIONS :-

1. USB 2.0 Circuit Protection.

To guarantee that breakdown doesn't happen during regular operation, the VBUS line needs to
be protected against ESD with a working voltage of at least 5 V.A 480 Mbps signal will need to
be supported by low-capacitance ESD protection for the D+ and D-data lines.Devices with one
or two channels are effective ways to make routing simpler.
2. Ethernet Circuit Protection

Because they provide better protection in the negative direction, unidirectional ESD protection
devices are advised for Ethernet applications.It is also necessary to consider capacitance,
particularly with Gigabit Ethernet.

3. SD- and SIM-Card Circuit Protection.

Due to the limited board space surrounding the SD card, the ESD solutions must have the
smallest practical footprint.One of the tiniest 4-channel ESD devices available is the
TPD4E101DPW, but single-channel devices can also be utilized to save board area.

Current research:-
 1. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/813332 (Electrostatic discharge protection circuits
in CMOS ICs using the lateral SCR devices: an overview)

A summary of the circuits used in CMOS integrated circuits (ICs) to defend against electrostatic
discharge (ESD) employing lateral SCR devices is given. A brief history of the lateral SCR
devices used to safeguard the on-chip ESD is given. Additionally covered is the practical issue
of utilizing SCR devices in CMOS IC ESD protection circuits. When the ICs are behaving
normally, it has been discovered that these SCR devices can inadvertently be activated by loud
pulses. Two approaches are put forth to safely use SCR devices for efficient ESD protection in
CMOS integrated circuits in order to solve this issue.

2. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5272583 (Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection

of giant magneto-resistive (GMR) recording heads with a silicon germanium technology)

For the first time, advanced magnetic recording huge magneto-resistive heads with BiCMOS
Silicon Germanium technology were used in experimental research on the ESD protection.
Schottky diodes, varactors, isolated MOSFETs, and other SiGe-based active and passive
components were utilized to assess the impact of the voltage at which protection is turned on.