Samsung patents chip design to stop static electricity from destroying circuits
Samsung has filed a patent for a specific arrangement of transistors designed to protect electronic components from electrostatic discharge (ESD). The device uses a symmetric bipolar transistor paired with two other transistors to safely redirect sudden electrical surges away from sensitive parts of a chip.
In the filing’s own words
A device including a first clamp circuit connected between a first node and a second node, wherein the first clamp circuit includes: a symmetric bipolar transistor comprising a control terminal, a first current terminal and a second current terminal, wherein the first current terminal and the second current terminal are symmetrical to each other with respect to the control terminal; a first bipolar transistor electrically connected to the symmetric bipolar transistor and to the first node; and a second bipolar transistor electrically connected to the symmetric bipolar transistor and to the second node.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A device comprising a first clamp circuit connected between a first node and a second node, wherein the first clamp circuit comprises: a symmetric PNP bipolar transistor comprising a control terminal, a first current terminal, and a second current terminal, wherein the first current terminal and the second current terminal are symmetrical to each other with respect to the control terminal; a first NPN bipolar transistor comprising a first collector electrically connected to the control terminal, a first base electrically connected to the first current terminal, and a first emitter electrically connected to the first node; and a second NPN bipolar transistor comprising a second collector electrically connected to the control terminal, a second base electrically connected to the second current terminal, and a second emitter electrically connected to the second node, wherein the first current terminal, the control terminal, and the second current terminal respectively correspond to a first p-well, a first n-well, and a second p-well, which are sequentially disposed in a deep n-well, and wherein the first collector, the first base, and the first emitter respectively correspond to the first n-well, the first p-well, and a first n+ region disposed in the first p-well.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
- Official title
- DEVICE FOR ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE PROTECTION USING SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIER
- Publication number
- US20260269604A1
- Application number
- 19663345
- Filed
- Apr 30, 2026
- Published
- Sep 10, 2026
- Inventors
- 5
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H02H 9/045 Electricity & electronicsMore from Samsung in Chips & hardware
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.