High Speed ESD Protection for RF Circuits: Innovative Codesigning Strategy Between FEOL and BEOL Devices in Advanced Technology

This article presents an innovative electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection concept based on the integration of gated diodes within metal–oxide–metal (MOM) capacitors, targeting RF applications in advanced CMOS technologies. The proposed ESD capacitor maintains a high quality factor ($Q$) while providing robust protection against fast transient events, such as those qualified by the charged device model (CDM). The design leverages miniaturized gated diodes and a codesign approach to preserve RF performance without area overhead. Characterization results, including transmission line pulse (TLP), very fast TLP (VF-TLP), and capacitively coupled TLP (CC-TLP) tests, demonstrate superior robustness compared to unprotected circuits, with failure currents exceeding 15.1 A in simulations and above 13 A in measurements. The integration of the ESD capacitor into a low-noise amplifier (LNA) operating in the 6–12 GHz range confirms minimal impact on RF parameters such as gain, noise figure, and input matching. These results validate the effectiveness of the proposed solution for high-frequency ESD protection in scaled CMOS technologies.