Patent ID: 7420251

Claim:
An electrostatic discharge protection circuit, comprising: a first set of serially connected transistors and a second set of serially connected transistors, each transistor comprising a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a gate electrode, wherein in the first set of serially connected transistors, the drain electrode and the gate electrode of each of the transistors are connected to each other, and the source electrode of each of the transistors is connected to the drain electrode of a next adjacent transistor, except for the source electrode of a last one of the transistors, and in the second set of serially connected transistors, the drain electrode and the gate electrode of each of the transistors are connected to each other, and the drain electrode of each of the transistors is connected to the source electrode of a next adjacent transistor, except for the drain electrode of a last one of the transistors; and a first electrostatic discharge transistor comprising a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a gate electrode; wherein the gate electrode of the first electrostatic discharge transistor, the source electrode of the last transistor of the first set of serially connected transistors and the source electrode of a first one of the transistors of the second set of serially connected transistors are connected to each other, the source electrode of the first electrostatic discharge transistor is connected to the drain electrode of a first one of the transistors of the first set of serially connected transistors, the drain electrode of the first electrostatic discharge transistor is connected to the drain electrode of the last transistor of the second set of serially connected transistors, and the drain electrode of the first electrostatic discharge transistor is connected to the source electrode of the last transistor of the first set of serially connected transistors and to the source electrode of the first transistor of the second set of serially connected transistors.