Patent ID: 8133765

Claim:
A method of coupling an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device in an integrated circuit to a circuit node of the integrated circuit, the method comprising: depositing a first conductive structure within the integrated circuit, the first conductive structure comprising a first metallic layer; patterning the first conductive structure to form a transmission line; depositing a second metallic layer within the integrated circuit; patterning the second metallic layer to form the transmission line with the first metallic layer; depositing an insulating layer within the transmission line between the second metallic layer and the first metallic layer; and coupling a first terminal of the transmission line to a first terminal of the ESD protection device and a second terminal of the transmission line to the circuit node, wherein the transmission line provides a low-impedance path between the first terminal of the ESD protection device and the circuit node at frequencies substantially lower than an operational frequency at the circuit node.