The present disclosure relates to an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit including a dynamic field plate bias circuit, and associated methods. In some embodiments, the ESD protection circuit includes a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) based ESD protection circuit including a field plate configured to increase a breakdown voltage of the BJT based ESD protection circuit. The ESD protection circuit also includes a dynamic field plate bias circuit coupled to the field plate of the BJT based ESD protection circuit. The dynamic field plate bias circuit is configured to provide the field plate a field plate bias at transient opposite to a field plate bias at a normal operation. The transient bias reduces a trigger voltage of the BJT based ESD protection circuit and increases a shunt current of the BJT based ESD protection circuit during the ESD event. Thereby, ESD protection reliability is improved.

In some embodiments, a BJT structure includes a base region, an emitter region formed in the base region and including an emitter doping region, a collector region including a collector doping region, an insulating structure and a field plate. The base region forms a junction with the collector region between the emitter and collector doping regions. The field plate is formed over an insulating structure over the junction. A first distance between the corresponding emitter and collector doping regions to the junction is shorter than a second distance in another BJT structure without the field plate corresponding to the first distance. The first distance causes a breakdown of the junction corresponding to a first breakdown voltage value between the emitter and collector doping regions being substantially the same or greater than a second breakdown voltage value of the other BJT structure corresponding to the first breakdown voltage value.

An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit (FIG. 3C) is disclosed. The circuit includes a bipolar transistor (304) having a base, collector, and emitter. Each of a plurality of diodes (308-316) has a first terminal coupled to the base and a second terminal coupled to the collector. The collector is connected to a first terminal (V+). The emitter is connected to a first power supply terminal (V−).

A semiconductor component, for example an integrated circuit chip, including a semiconductor substrate having active devices at the front side thereof and I/O terminals at the back side of the component, is provided. In one aspect, the terminals are connected to the active devices through TSV connections and buried rails in an area of the substrate that is separate from the area in which the active devices are located. The I/O TSV connections are located in a floating well of the substrate that is separated from the rest of the substrate by a second well formed of material of the opposite conductivity type compared to the material of the floating well. The second well includes at least one contact configured to be coupled to a voltage that is suitable for reverse-biasing the junction between the floating well and the second well. A small capacitance is placed in series with the large parasitic capacitance generated by a thin dielectric liner that isolates the I/O TSVs and I/O rails from the substrate, thereby mitigating the negative effect of the large parasitic capacitance. Additional contacts and conductors can be provided which are configured to create an ESD protection circuit for protecting the I/O TSVs and the I/O rails from electrostatic discharges.

An ESD protection device includes a semiconductor body having an upper surface, a plurality of p-type wells that each extend from the upper surface into the semiconductor body, a plurality of n-type wells that each extend from the upper surface into the semiconductor body, first isolation regions comprising an electrical insulator that laterally surrounds the p-type wells and extends from the upper surface into the semiconductor body at least as deep as the p-type wells, and second isolation regions comprising an electrical insulator that laterally surrounds the n-type wells and extends from the upper surface into the semiconductor body at least as deep as the n-type wells, wherein the p-type wells and the n-type wells alternate with one another a first direction, and wherein an isolating area of the first isolation regions is greater than an isolating area of the second isolation regions.

An enhanced layout for a multiple-finger ESD protection device has several embodiments. In these embodiments, the base contacts of the NPN (or PNP) transistors utilized as voltage clamps in the multiple-finger NPN-based (or PNP-based) multiple-finger ESD protection device are disposed at opposite edges of the multiple-finger ESD protection device and oriented perpendicularly to the orientation of the fingers in the multiple-finger ESD protection device. Similarly, the body contacts of the NMOS (or PMOS) transistors utilized as voltage clamps in the multiple-finger NMOS-based (or PMOS-based) multiple-finger ESD protection device are disposed at opposite edges of the multiple-finger ESD protection device and oriented perpendicularly to the orientation of the fingers in the multiple-finger ESD protection device.

A layout structure of an ESD protection semiconductor device includes a substrate, a first doped region, a pair of second doped regions, a pair of third doped regions, at least a first gate structure formed within the first doped region, and a drain region and a first source region formed at two sides of the first gate structure. The substrate, the first doped region and the third doped regions include a first conductivity type. The second doped regions, the drain region and the first source region include a second conductivity type complementary to the first conductivity type. The first doped region includes a pair of lateral portions and a pair of vertical portions. The pair of second doped regions is formed under the pair of lateral portions, and the pair of third doped regions is formed under the pair of vertical portions.

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor structures and, more particularly, to an electrostatic discharge (ESD) device and methods of manufacture. The structure (ESD device) includes: a trigger collector region having fin structures of a first dopant type, a collector region having fin structures in a well of a second dopant type and further including a lateral ballasting resistance; an emitter region having a well of the second dopant type and fin structures of the first dopant type; and a base region having a well and fin structures of the second dopant type.

An electrostatic discharge device includes a substrate. A deep doped well of a first conductive type is disposed in the substrate. A drain doped well of the first conductive type is disposed in the substrate above the deep doped well. An inserted doping well of a second conductive type is disposed in the drain doped well, in contact with the deep doped well. A drain region of the first conductive type is in the drain doped well and above the inserted doping well. An inserted drain of the second conductive type is on the inserted doping well and surrounded by the drain region. A source doped well of the second conductive type is disposed in the substrate, abut the drain doped well. A source region is disposed in the source doped well. A gate structure is disposed on the substrate between the drain region and the source region.

An ESD protection device is fabricated in a semiconductor substrate that includes a semiconductor layer having a first conductivity type. A first well implantation procedure implants dopant of a second conductivity type in the semiconductor layer to form inner and outer sinker regions. The inner sinker region is configured to establish a common collector region of first and second bipolar transistor devices. A second well implantation procedure implants dopant of the first conductivity type in the semiconductor layer to form respective base regions of the first and second bipolar transistor devices. Conduction of the first bipolar transistor device is triggered by breakdown between the inner sinker region and the base region of the first bipolar transistor device. Conduction of the second bipolar transistor device is triggered by breakdown between the outer sinker region and the base region of the second bipolar transistor device.