Pin-to-Pin Electrostatic Discharge Protection for Semiconductor Bridges

摘要

The lack of protection for semiconductor bridges (SCBs) against human electrostatic discharge (ESD) presents an obstacle to widespread use of this device. The goal of this research is to protect SCB initiators against pin-to-pin ESD without affecting their performance. Two techniques were investigated. In the first, a parallel capacitor is used to attenuate high frequencies. The second uses a parallel zener diode to limit the voltage amplitude. Both the 1 {micro}F capacitor and the 14 V zener diode protected the SCBs from ESD. The capacitor provided the best protection. The protection circuits had no effect on the SCB's threshold voltage. The function time for the CP-loaded SCBs with capacitors was about 11 {micro}s when fired by a firing set charged to 40 V. The SCBs failed to function when protected by the 6 V and 8 V zeners. The 51 V zener did not provide adequate protection against ESD. The parallel capacitor succeeded in protecting SCB initiators against pin-to-pin ESD without affecting their performance. Additional experiments should be done on SCBs and actual detonators to further quantify the effectiveness of this technique. Methods for retrofitting existing SCB initiators and integrating capacitors into future devices should also be explored.