Patent ID: 7164566

Claim:
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device having a first terminal and a second terminal, the device comprising: a transistor having a collector coupled to the first terminal of the ESD protection device a base and an emitter coupled to the second terminal of the ESD protection device, said transistor having a base region of a first type; a zener diode having a first terminal coupled to said collector of said transistor and a second terminal coupled said base of said transistor wherein said zener diode breaks down in an ESD event providing impact ionization current to said base region of said transistor; a first region of said first type formed in said base region, said first region configured to redistribute current away from a surface of said base region to increase a peak current handled by the ESD protection device; and a second region of said first type formed in said first region, said second region coupling to the second terminal of the ESD protection device.