A Novel Latch-Up-Immune DDSCR Used for 12 V Applications

In this paper, a high holding voltage dual-directional silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) with an embedded shunt path (HVDDSCR-ESP) for high-voltage I/O electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection is proposed. Based on the 0.13-mu m BCD process, multi-current pulses that mimic the transmission line pulse (TLP) are applied to devices by using Sentaurus-TCAD. The results reveal that the proposed structure, compared with the conventional low-trigger dual directional SCR (LTDDSCR), has adjustable high holding voltage and good ESD robustness. In addition, the working mechanisms are also investigated, and the proposed device as the ESD cell is beneficial for the 12V applications and has no risk of latch-up.