Electrostatic discharge (ESD): A spoiler to development of next-generation technologies?

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a process in which a finite amount of charge is transferred from one object (i.e., human body) to the other (i.e., microchip). This process can result in a very high current passing through the object within a very short period of time. To prevent ESD-induced damages to integrated circuits, it is imperative to develop and implement ESD protection structures. An effective way to protect the electronics system against ESD events is to incorporate an ESD protection structure on the microchip (i.e., called the on chip ESD protection) to increase the survivability of the core circuit can survive when an ESD strikes.