Electrostatic discharge protection devices with series connection using distributed cell-based diodes

A series electrostatic discharge (ESD) diode structure is proposed to minimise the degradation induced by thermal interaction between series connected diodes. The proposed series diode is constructed using a distributed cell-based ESD diode. To verify the feasibility of the proposed structure, single and series diodes are designed using the typical and the proposed structures. From the experimental results, it is proved that the ESD survival levels of the proposed series diode are nearly identical to those of the single diode, unlike the case of typical series diodes.