Characteristic parameter model and circuit‐level simulation of gate‐controlled dual direction SCR for on‐chip ESD protection

Abstract

SummaryDual‐directional SCR (DDSCR) with bidirectional discharge paths and high robustness is widely employed for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection in integrated circuits. However, the design and simulation of on‐chip ESD protection circuits for dual‐directional paths remain challenging due to a lack of relevant device models. This paper designs a Gate‐Controlled Dual‐Direction SCR (GDDSCR) for providing electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection in industry‐level temperature sensors. Furthermore, a new behavioral model is developed based on the GDDSCR for simulating ESD protection circuits along both forward and reverse paths. Experimental results demonstrate that the GDDSCR behavioral model accurately reproduces the IV characteristics observed in bidirectional transmission line pulse (TLP) tests. In addition, the equivalent circuit based on human body model (HBM) is used for transient simulation, and the accuracy of the model is verified by relevant HBM experiments. The proposed model allows the direct extraction of parameters such as trigger voltage (Vt1), holding voltage (Vh), and on‐state resistance (Ron) through TLP testing, facilitating easy application to other types of DDSCR devices.