New on-chip transient detection circuit to improve electromagnetic susceptibility of microelectronic systems

A new on-chip transient detection circuit for system-level electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection is presented in this work. The circuit simulation and experimental results with silicon testchip in a 0.18-μm CMOS process have confirmed that the new proposed circuit can successfully detect the occurrence of system-level ESD-induced electrical transient disturbance. The detection output can be used as system recovery index to restore the system from frozen or upset state to a stable and known state. Therefore, the immunity of microelectronic products against the system-level ESD test can be effectively enhanced.