Patent ID: 7723823
Filing Date: 2010-05-25
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
1. A lateral electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type and first doping level; a semiconductor layer overlying the substrate, and of the first conductivity type and a second doping level and having an outer surface spaced a first distance from the substrate; emitter and collector regions of a second, opposite, conductivity type, laterally spaced apart by a second distance, and having third doping level greater than the second doping level; a well region of the first conductivity type in but not extending through the semiconductor layer and having a doping level higher than the second doping level but less than or equal to the third doping level, and extending laterally from the emitter region toward but separated from the collector region by a third distance; and a buried layer of the second conductivity type and doping level higher than the third doping level Ohmically coupled to the emitter region, and without a further buried layer of the second conductivity type Ohmically coupled to the collector region.