Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates to an ESD protection circuit with a gate voltage raising circuit, and more particularly to an ESD protection circuit with a gate voltage raising circuit in a large size open drain circuit. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    For general circuit design, a circuit set is required in a circuit for preventing the circuit from damage by static electricity from human bodies or the environment, which would reduce operating lifespan of the circuit. 
         [0005]    The circuit set is usually referred to an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit. In prior art, there are two types of ESD protection circuit designs. 
         [0006]    1. Disposing a Ballast resistor in the ESD protection circuit, thus preventing a parasitic NMOS transistor from being irregularly turned on. Specifically, the disposition of the Ballast resistor decreases the irregular turned on condition of the parasitic NMOS. 
         [0007]    2. Disposing an ESD clamp circuit between power lines for conducting a portion or all of the currents.  FIG. 1  is a conventional output circuit with an ESD clamp circuit. Referring to  FIG. 1 , an output circuit  1  comprises an ESD clamp circuit  11  coupled between a power source VCC and a ground node  12 . The output circuit  1  further comprises a PMOS  13 , an NMOS  14 , a parasitic diode  15 , and an output terminal  16 . A source of the PMOS transistor  13  is coupled to the voltage source VCC, and a drain thereof is coupled to the output terminal  16 . A source of the NMOS  14  is coupled to the ground node  12 , and a drain thereof is coupled to the output unit  16 . The parasitic diode  15  is coupled to the voltage source VCC, and the output unit  16  is coupled to the parasitic diode  15 . In a PS mode (positive source mode), the ESD clamp circuit  11  can conduct the electrostatic current to flow from the parasitic diode  15  sequentially to the power source VCC, the ESD clamp circuit  11 , and the ground node  12 , thereby decreasing damage from the electrostatic current. 
         [0008]    For a large sized output circuit application, low on-state resistance (RDS ON) is usually required, however, a Ballast resistor can increase RDS ON. Assuming costs for a low RDSON requirement and a smaller layout size are considered usually, there is no Ballast resistor or a very small Ballast resistor in a large sized output circuit. Thus, a parasitic NMOS transistor of an ESD protection circuit of the example, will often be irregularly turned on. When the irregular turned-on condition occurs in a large sized open drain NMOS (ODMOS) transistor, the ESD problem of the output circuit becomes more serious. This is because an electrostatic discharge current has to pass through the NMOS transistor  14 , rather than from the parasitic diode  15 , due to not having a forward base diode, and sequentially to the voltage source VCC, the ESD clamp circuit  11 , and the ground terminal  12  of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 2  is an output circuit with large sized open drain NMOSs (ODMOSs). Referring to  FIG. 2 , in an output circuit  2 , a first parasitic capacitor  21  and a second parasitic capacitor  22  are used to provide voltage dividing, so that a first NMOS transistor  23  is normally turned on. In practice, however, the power source VCC is charged through the first parasitic capacitor  21  and a parasitic diode  25  when ESD occurs. When a capacitance between a voltage source VCC and a ground node is greater than the value of the first parasitic capacitor  21 , the power source VCC is charged to an insufficiently high potential. Thus, making the potential of the gate of the first transistor  23  not high enough, and the resistance of the channel of the turned-on first NMOS transistor  23  too high, degrading the ESD protection. Additionally, when the second NMOS transistor  24  is in a turned-on state, the potential of the gate of the first transistor  23  is pulled to the ground terminal, and the ESD protection is further degraded. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit with a gate voltage raising circuit is provided. The ESD protection circuit with a gate voltage raising circuit, which is used in a large size open drain circuit, comprises a power source providing a voltage, a first P type metal oxide semiconductor is coupled to the power source, and a first N type metal oxide semiconductor is coupled to the first P type metal oxide semiconductor. Additionally, a parasitic diode is coupled to the first P type metal oxide semiconductor, a second N type metal oxide semiconductor is coupled to a drain of the first P type metal oxide semiconductor, and a first parasitic capacitor is coupled to the second N type metal oxide semiconductor. Meanwhile, a second parasitic capacitor is coupled to the first parasitic capacitor and the second N type metal oxide semiconductor, and a gate raising circuit is coupled to a gate and a source of the second N type metal oxide semiconductor. The gate raising circuit raises a gate voltage of the second N type metal oxide semiconductor. 
         [0010]    A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  shows a conventional output circuit with an ESD clamp circuit; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  shows an output circuit with large sized open drain NMOSs (ODMOSs); and 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  illustrates the circuit diagram of an ESD protection circuit with a gate voltage raising circuit according to the embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims. 
         [0016]    Please refer to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  illustrates the circuit diagram of an ESD protection circuit with a gate voltage raising circuit according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , an ESD protection circuit  3  with a gate voltage raising circuit comprises a power source VCC, a capacitor  31 , a first PMOS  32 , a first NMOS  35 , a parasitic diode  34 , a second NMOS  36 , a first parasitic capacitor  37 , a second parasitic capacitor  38 , a gate voltage raising circuit  39 , an output unit  40 , and a ground node  41 . 
         [0017]    The capacitor  31  is coupled between the power source VCC and the ground node  41 . The source of the first PMOS  32  is coupled to the power source VCC. The source of the first NMOS  35  is coupled to the source of the first PMOS  32 . The gate of the first NMOS  35  is coupled to the gate of the first PMOS  32 . The drain of the first NMOS  35  is coupled to the ground node  41 . The parasitic diode  34  is coupled between the source and the drain of the first PMOS  32 . 
         [0018]    The gate of the second NMOS  36  is coupled to the drain of the first PMOS  32 . The drain of the second NMOS  36  is coupled to the ground node  41 . The source of the second NMOS  36  is coupled to the output unit  40 . The first parasitic capacitor  37  and the second parasitic capacitor  38  are coupled in serial between the source and drain of the second NMOS  36 . 
         [0019]    The gate voltage raising circuit  39  coupled to the source of the second NMOS  36  comprises a third NMOS  391 , a first capacitor  392 , a first resistor  393 , and a ground node  41 . The first resistor  393  is coupled between the first capacitor  392  and the ground node  41 . The other terminal of the first capacitor  392  is coupled to the source of the third NMOS  391 . The drain of the third NMOS  391  is coupled to the gage of the second NMOS  36 , and the gate of the third NMOS  391  is coupled to the first resistor  393 . 
         [0020]    The gate voltage raising circuit  39  raises the gate voltage of the second NMOS  36 . Thus, the problems due to the power source VCC being charged to an insufficiently high potential, making the potential of the gate of the NMOS not high enough and the resistance of the channel of the turned-on NMOS too high, degrading the ESD protection, is avoided. 
         [0021]    As discussed above, the embodiments of the invention mitigates the low gate voltage and irregularly turned-on problems of the NMOS, which improves ESD protection. 
         [0022]    While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those who are skilled in this technology can still make various alterations and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention shall be defined and protected by the following claims and their equivalents.

Technology Category: h