On-chip ESD protection designs with SCR-based devices in RF integrated circuits

CMOS technology has been used to implement the radio-frequency (RF) integrated circuits for consumer electronics. However, the thinner gate oxide in nanoscale CMOS technology seriously degrades the electrostatic discharge (ESD) robustness. Therefore, on-chip ESD protection designs must be added at all input/output pads in CMOS chip. To minimize the impacts from ESD protection design on circuit performances, ESD protection at input/output pads must be carefully designed. A review on ESD protection designs with silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) devices in RF integrated circuits is presented in this paper.