An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device includes a first clamping circuit, a second clamping circuit, and a diode circuit. The first clamping circuit is coupled between a first power rail and a second power rail. The second clamping circuit is coupled between a third power rail and the second power rail. The diode circuit is configured to steer an ESD current from an input/output pad to at least one of the first clamping circuit or the third power rail. The first power rail receives a first voltage, the second power rail receives a second voltage, the third power rail receives a third voltage, the third voltage is higher than the first voltage, and the first voltage is higher than the second voltage.

Semiconductor devices with high area efficiency are described. Such a semiconductor device can be positioned within an isolation structure, and include diodes coupled to the isolation structure. In this manner, the semiconductor devices utilize an area, which may be otherwise left as an inactive space (or dead space) to achieve a smaller footprint. Further, the semiconductor devices may include multiple fingers of doped regions arranged horizontally, vertically, or a combination of both. The fingers of doped regions form diodes connected in parallel using metal lines that are parallelized to facilitate flowing large amounts of current. The parallelized metal lines with reduced lengths ameliorate issues associated with parasitic resistance of the metal lines during ESD or surge events.

A method for monitoring a switchable semiconductor component having a protective circuit connected in parallel to the semiconductor component includes tapping an electrical variable applied to the semiconductor component and the protective circuit, and detecting damage to the semiconductor component and/or the protective circuit when an electrical variable is greater than a previously known critical value.

An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device including: a substrate including: a first, second and third doped regions, the second doped region disposed between the first and third doped regions, the second doped region has a first conductivity type and a first doping concentration and the first and third doped regions have a second conductivity type and a second doping concentration; first and second doped terminal regions disposed within the first and second doped regions, respectively; and a doped island region disposed within the second doped region, the first and second doped terminal regions and doped island region have the second conductivity type and a third doping concentration, the third doping concentration higher than the first and second doping concentrations; and conductive terminals respectively coupled to the doped terminal regions; and an insulation layer arranged on the substrate between the conductive terminals and covering at least the second doped region.

The present application discloses a semiconductor chip, a semiconductor device and an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection method for a semiconductor device. The semiconductor chip includes an electrical contact, an application circuit, and an ESD protection unit. The application circuit performs operations according to a one signal received by the electrical contact. The ESD protection unit is coupled to the electrical contact. The capacitance of the ESD protection unit is adjustable.

The present disclosure provides a diode-triggered bidirectional silicon controlled rectifier and circuit. The silicon controlled rectifier includes: a P-type substrate; a first P well formed in the P-type substrate, a first P-type doped region and a first N-type doped region being formed in the first P well; a second P well formed in the P-type substrate, a third N-type doped region and a fourth P-type doped region being formed in the second P well; and an N well formed in the P-type substrate, a second P-type doped region, a second N-type doped region and a third P-type doped region being formed in the N well. The second N-type doped region is electrically connected with a positive electrode of a diode string, and the first P-type doped region and the fourth P-type doped region are electrically connected with a negative electrode of the diode string.

In one embodiment, an asymmetric TVS device may include a semiconductor substrate, comprising an inner region, the inner region having a first polarity, and a first surface region, disposed on a first surface of the semiconductor substrate, the first surface region comprising a second polarity, opposite the first polarity. The asymmetric TVS device may also include a second surface region, comprising the second polarity, and disposed on a second surface of the semiconductor substrate, opposite the first surface, wherein the first surface region comprises a first dopant concentration, and wherein the second surface region comprises a second dopant concentration, greater than the first dopant concentration.

An electronic device including a first substrate, a semiconductor layer, a second substrate and a color filter is disclosed. The first substrate has a peripheral region. The semiconductor layer is disposed on the first substrate in the peripheral region. The second substrate is opposite to the first substrate. The color filter is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and in the peripheral region of the first substrate, and the color filter overlaps the semiconductor layer.

A semiconductor integrated circuit includes a high-potential-side circuit region, a high-voltage junction termination structure surrounding the high-potential-side circuit region, and a low-potential-side circuit region surrounding the high-potential-side circuit region via the high-voltage junction termination structure which are integrated into a single chip, and wherein a first distance between a looped well region and a buried layer in a region in which a first contact region is formed is smaller than a second distance between the looped well region and the buried layer in a region in which a carrier reception region is formed.

Disclosed herein is a single integrated circuit chip with a main logic that operates a vehicle component such as a valve driver. Isolated from the main logic within the chip is a safety area that operates to verify proper operation of the main logic. The safety area is internally powered by an internal regulated voltage generated by an internal voltage regulator that generates the internal regulated voltage from an external voltage while protecting against shorts of the external line delivering the external voltage. The safety area includes protection circuits that level shift external analog signals downward in voltage for monitoring within the safety area, the protection circuits serving to protect against shorts of the external line delivering the external analog signals.