ESD Research of SCR Devices under Harsh Environments

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Semiconductor Physics

Background:

• Traditional electrostatic discharge (ESD) testing primarily addresses high-temperature effects on integrated circuits (ICs).
• The impact of ambient relative humidity on IC performance and ESD robustness remains under-explored.
• Existing research lacks comprehensive analysis of combined environmental stressors on ESD protection devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the performance of various ESD protection components under combined high ambient temperature and high ambient relative humidity.
• To evaluate the ESD robustness of silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs) in harsh environmental conditions.
• To provide verified measurement results within the context of CMOS processing.

Main Methods:

• System-level ESD testing of various protection components.
• Environmental stress application: high ambient temperature and high ambient relative humidity.
• Performance and robustness evaluation of silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs).
• Verification of measurement results in a standard CMOS process.

Main Results:

• Quantification of ESD protection device performance degradation under combined temperature and humidity stress.
• Identification of specific failure mechanisms or performance limitations of SCRs in harsh environments.
• Validation of experimental data through comparison with established CMOS process parameters.

Conclusions:

• High ambient temperature and relative humidity significantly impact ESD protection component performance.
• SCR devices exhibit specific vulnerabilities under combined environmental stressors.
• Understanding these effects is crucial for designing reliable ICs for diverse operating conditions.