Patent ID: 9692229
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: H01L,H02H

Claim:
1. A protection circuit, comprising: a detection node; an electrostatic discharge (ESD) detection circuit coupled to the detection node, and configured to generate an ESD signal upon detecting one or more of an ESD event or an electrical overstress (EOS) event related to the detection node; a sensor coupled to the detection node, and configured to detect an electrical characteristic of the detection node; an over-capability detection circuit coupled to the sensor, the over-capability detection circuit configured to estimate an ending of the EOS event based on the detected electrical characteristic, and configured to generate a shut-off signal based on the estimated ending of the EOS event; and a discharge path coupled with the ESD detection circuit to receive the ESD signal, and coupled with the over-capability detection circuit to receive the shut-off signal, the discharge path coupled with the detection node to either discharge the detection node when the ESD signal is generated or stop discharging the detection node when the shut-off signal is generated.