Patent ID: 8772091

Claim:
A method of fabricating an electronic protection circuit, the method comprising: forming a first high reverse breakdown voltage (HRBV) device, wherein forming the first HRBV device comprises: forming a first p-well and a second p-well in a substrate, wherein the first and second p-wells are separated by an n-type region; forming a first n-type active area in the first p-well; forming a first p-type active area in the second p-well; configuring the first n-type active area, the first p-well, and the n-type region to operate as an emitter, a base, and a collector of an NPN bipolar transistor, respectively; wherein the NPN bipolar transistor is configured to control a forward trigger voltage of the first HRBV device; configuring the second p-well, the n-type region, and the first p-well to operate as an emitter, a base, and a collector of a PNP bipolar transistor, respectively; and wherein the PNP bipolar transistor is configured to control a reverse breakdown voltage of the first HRBV device, foaming a first protection circuit comprising the first HRBV device to provide protection between a first pad and a second pad, wherein forming the first protection circuit comprises: configuring the first protection circuit to activate when a transient electrical event received between the first and second pads has a first voltage polarity; and configuring the first HRBV device to prevent the first protection circuit from activating when the transient electrical event has a second voltage polarity opposite the first voltage polarity.