ESD

Preface

This book Electrostatic Discharge (ESD): Analog Circuits and Design was initiated based on the need to produce a text that addresses the fundamentals of electrostatic discharge (ESD) requirements for analog and power electronic devices, components and systems. As the manufacturing world evolves, semiconductor devices are scaling and systems are changing. As a result, the needs and requirements of reliability and ESD robust products are increasing. A text is required that connects and synthesizes the fundamentals of analog design discipline and the ESD discipline. Whereas significant texts are available today to teach experts on ESD on-chip design for digital design discipline and radio frequency (RF) design discipline, there is no single textbook devoted to ESD on-chip design dedicated to analog design.

With the growth of mixed signal applications that integrate both the digital and analog circuitries on a common semiconductor chip, there is a growing interest in the concerns associated with ESD design and protection within a digital–analog application. New issues arise by the integration of two separate cores within a chip, where the digital and the analog domains are separated spatially and electrically. As a result, new problems arise with the design synthesis and architecture of an analog–digital mixed signal semiconductor chip.

With the growth of power management and power devices, there is an additional challenge in providing ESD protection within a power ...