Coincidentally, I have a blog post on that subject :-) Yes, during the construction of an IC, a wire can act as an antenna and pick up charge that can destroy

Coincidentally, I have a blog post on that subject :-) Yes, during the construction of an IC, a wire can act as an antenna and pick up charge that can destroy the chip through ESD. Specifically, if a wire is connected to a transistor gate but the other end is not yet connected, it can pick up charge when the chip is plasma etched, and then blow up the gate. The solution is an "antenna diode", a diode that connects the wire to the substrate to drain off the charge. When the chip is completed and in use, the diode is reverse-biased so it has no effect. https://www.righto.com/2024/11/antenna-diodes-in-pentium-processor.html https://www.righto.com/2024/11/antenna-diodes-in-pentium-pro...