Development of an adjustable rectangular pulse electrical overstress test system for electronic device robustness and...

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Semiconductor Physics

Background:

• Increasing incidence of electrical overstress (EOS) failures in electronic devices necessitates improved reliability testing.
• Conventional surge tests lack methodologies for analyzing device behavior under prolonged pulse width and high current, hindering quantitative EOS protection design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel EOS test system for simulating diverse electrical stress conditions.
• To investigate the behavioral characteristics and failure mechanisms of integrated circuits under long-pulse-width and DC electrical stress.
• To propose an efficient test methodology for characterizing device behavior under prolonged EOS.

Main Methods:

• Development of a versatile EOS test system with adjustable parameters (rise time, voltage, pulse width from 5 µs to DC).
• System operates under a 50 Ω matched load, achieving up to 540 A short-circuit current.
• Experimental analysis of a transient voltage suppressor under various long-pulse-width EOS conditions.

Main Results:

• Observed previously uncharacterized triggering behavior in transient voltage suppressors under long-pulse-width stress.
• Elucidated the failure process and determined the failure threshold curve for the tested device.
• Demonstrated the system's capability for comprehensive device characterization and transient behavior analysis.

Conclusions:

• The developed EOS test system provides a quantitative basis for top-down EOS protection design.
• The findings enhance understanding of device failure mechanisms under prolonged electrical stress.
• The proposed methodology and system support systematic EOS protection design and product reliability improvement.