Patent ID: 8089739

Claim:
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, comprising: a first voltage clamp connected between a first voltage supply node and a second voltage supply node of the circuit, the first voltage supply node being adapted to receive a first voltage which is greater than a prescribed gate oxide reliability potential of the circuit, the second voltage supply node being operative to receive a second voltage which is less than the first voltage; and a second voltage clamp connected between the second voltage supply node and a voltage return of the circuit; wherein the first voltage clamp is operative independently of the second voltage clamp to clamp the first voltage on the first voltage supply node to a first value during an ESD event between the first and second voltage supply nodes, and the second voltage clamp is operative independently of the first voltage clamp to clamp the second voltage on the second voltage supply node to a second value during an ESD event between the second voltage supply node and the voltage return.