Patent ID: 7951681

Claim:
A method, comprising: in a substrate of a first dopant type, forming a first region and a second region of a second dopant type in respective first and second portions of a first surface of the substrate using a second dopant-type implantation photolithographic process, and wherein a third portion of the first surface constitutes the entirety of the first surface between the first and second portions, wherein the first and second regions are separated by a third region that is bounded in part by the third portion of the first surface, wherein the third region extends into the substrate between the first and second regions, and wherein the third region is constituted entirely of the substrate of the first dopant type; forming a fourth region and a fifth region of the first dopant type in respective fourth and fifth portions of the first surface of the substrate using a first dopant-type implantation photolithographic process, wherein a sixth portion of the first surface constitutes the entirety of the first surface between the first and fourth regions, wherein a seventh portion of the first surface constitutes the entirety of the first surface between the second and fifth regions, and wherein the fourth region is formed in contact with the substrate; and forming first and second shallow trench isolation (STI) structures using an oxide definition photolithographic process, wherein the first STI structure is formed over a region between the first and fourth regions such that a portion of the first STI structure is bounded by the entirety of the sixth portion of the first surface, and wherein the second STI structure is formed over a region between the second and fifth regions such that a portion of the second STI structure is bounded by the entirety of the seventh portion of the first surface; wherein the first, second, and third regions respectively constitute a collector, an emitter, and a base of a lateral bipolar junction transistor (BJT), wherein the lateral BJT does not include a field oxide or STI structure over any portion of the base, and wherein the lateral BJT is configured to trigger in response to the fourth region receiving an indication of an ESD event.