Patent ID: 7173291

Claim:
A protecting element protecting an element of a semiconductor device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate comprising a top primary plane and a bottom primary plane; a first high-concentration impurity region formed in the semiconductor substrate and extending from the top primary plane toward the bottom primary plane; a second high-concentration impurity region formed in the semiconductor substrate along the bottom primary plane, a bottom of the first high-concentration impurity region being adjacent the second high-concentration impurity region but not being in contact with the second high-concentration impurity region; and an insulating region in contact with the first and second high-concentration impurity regions, wherein the first high-concentration impurity region is connected with a terminal of the protected element and a reference potential is applied to the second high-concentration impurity region, and the protecting element is configured to release electrostatic energy applied to the terminal of the protected element by inducing a conductive path in the insulating region between the first and second high-concentration impurity regions upon the application of the electrostatic energy.