A Bidirectional ESD Protection Circuit with High Reliability and Low Leakage for Consumer Electronic Products

With the proliferation of consumer electronics, products are becoming slimmer and more compact, leading to a reduction in the size of integrated circuits (ICs). This downsizing makes ICs more susceptible to electrostatic discharge (ESD) issues, which can cause significant circuit damage. Therefore, designing bidirectional ESD protection components is crucial, especially for circuits with I/O (input or output) pins. However, traditional bidirectional ESD protection circuits face challenges such as excessive space occupation and high leakage current. To address these issues, this study presents a novel design using a 0.18μm CMOS process, featuring a bidirectional, PMOS-triggered PNP protection circuit. Compared to traditional circuits mentioned in the literature, the new design demonstrates higher reliability and lower leakage current for the same ESD-discharging PNP width.