Design Simulation And Characterization Of Novel Electrostatic Discharge Protection Devices And Circuits In Advanced Silicon Technologies

Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) and Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE) simulation is widely used in ESD protection design. In this dissertation, TCAD and SPICE simulation are carried out for a few times for both of pre-tapeout evaluation on characteristics of the proposed device and circuit and post-tapeout analysis on structure operating mechanism.

ESD Protection Device and Circuit Design for Advanced CMOS Technologies is intended for practicing engineers working in the areas of circuit design, VLSI reliability and testing domains. As the problems associated with ESD failures and yield losses become significant in the modern semiconductor industry, the demand for graduates with a basic knowledge of ESD is also increasing. Today, there is a significant demand to educate the circuits design and reliability teams on ESD issues. This book makes an attempt to address the ESD design and implementation in a systematic manner. A design procedure involving device simulators as well as circuit simulator is employed to optimize device and circuit parameters for optimal ESD as well as circuit performance. This methodology, described in ESD Protection Device and Circuit Design for Advanced CMOS Technologies has resulted in several successful ESD circuit design with excellent silicon results and demonstrates its strengths.

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), an event of a sudden transfer of electrons between two bodies at different potentials, happens commonly throughout nature. When such even occurs on integrated circuits (ICs), ICs will be damaged and failures result. As the evolution of semiconductor technologies, increasing usage of automated equipments and the emerging of more and more complex circuit applications, ICs are more sensitive to ESD strikes. Main ESD events occurring in semiconductor industry have been standardized as human body model (HBM), machine model (MM), charged device model (CDM) and international electrotechnical commission model (IEC) for control, monitor and test. In additional to the environmental control of ESD events during manufacturing, shipping and assembly, incorporating on-chip ESD protection circuits inside ICs is another effective solution to reduce the ESD-induced damage. This dissertation presents design, characterization, integration and compact modeling of novel silicon controlled rectifier (SCR)-based devices for on-chip ESD protection. The SCR-based device with a snapback characteristic has long been used to form a V[subscript SS]-based protection scheme for on-chip ESD protection over a broad rang of technologies because of its low on-resistance, high failure current and the best area efficiency. The ESD design window of the snapback device is defined by the maximum power supply voltage as the low edge and the minimum internal circuitry breakdown voltage as the high edge. The downscaling of semiconductor technology keeps on squeezing the design window of on-chip ESD protection. For the submicron process and below, the turn-on voltage and sustain voltage of ESD protection cell should be lower than 10 V and higher than 5 V, respectively, to avoid core circuit damages and latch-up issue. This presents a big challenge to device/circuit engineers. Meanwhile, the high voltage technologies push the design window to another tough range whose sustain voltage, 45 V for instance, is hard for most snapback ESD devices to reach. Based on the in-depth elaborating on the principle of SCR-based devices, this dissertation first presents a novel unassisted, low trigger- and high holding-voltage SCR (uSCR) which can fit into the aforesaid ESD design window without involving any extra assistant circuitry to realize an area-efficient on-chip ESD protection for low voltage applications. The on-chip integration case is studied to verify the protection effectiveness of the design. Subsequently, this dissertation illustrate the development of a new high holding current SCR (HHC-SCR) device for high voltage ESD protection with increasing the sustain current, not the sustain voltage, of the SCR device to the latchup-immune level to avoid sacrificing the ESD protection robustness of the device. The ESD protection cells have been designed either by using technology computer aided design (TCAD) tools or through trial-and-error iterations, which is cost- or time-consuming or both. Also, the interaction of ESD protection cells and core circuits need to be identified and minimized at pre-silicon stage. It is highly desired to design and evaluate the ESD protection cell using simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE)-like circuit simulation by employing compact models in circuit simulators. And the compact model also need to predict the response of ESD protection cells to very fast transient ESD events such as CDM event since it is a major ESD failure mode. The compact model for SCR-based device is not widely available. This dissertation develops a macromodeling approach to build a comprehensive SCR compact model for CDM ESD simulation of complete I/O circuit. This modeling approach offers simplicity, wide availability and compatibility with most commercial simulators by taking advantage of using the advanced BJT model, Vertical Bipolar Inter-Company (VBIC) model. SPICE Gummel-Poon (SGP) model has served the ICs industry well for over 20 years while it is not sufficiently accurate when using SGP model to build a compact model for ESD protection SCR. This dissertation seeks to compare the difference of SCR compact model built by using VBIC and conventional SGP in order to point out the important features of VBIC model for building an accurate and easy-CAD implement SCR model and explain why from device physics and model theory perspectives.

An authoritative single-volume reference on the design and analysis of ESD protection for ICs Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a major reliability challenge to semiconductors, integrated circuits (ICs), and microelectronic systems. On-chip ESD protection is a vital to any electronic products, such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices. Practical ESD Protection Design provides comprehensive and systematic guidance on all major aspects of designs of on-chip ESD protection for integrated circuits (ICs). Written for students and practicing engineers alike, this one-stop resource covers essential theories, hands-on design skills, computer-aided design (CAD) methods, characterization and analysis techniques, and more on ESD protection designs. Detailed chapters examine an array of topics ranging from fundamental to advanced, including ESD phenomena, ESD failure analysis, ESD testing models, ESD protection devices and circuits, ESD design layout and technology effects, ESD design flows and co-design methods, ESD modelling and CAD techniques, and future ESD protection concepts. Based on the author’s decades of design, research and teaching experiences, Practical ESD Protection Design: • Features numerous real-world ESD protection design examples • Emphasizes on ESD protection design techniques and procedures • Describes ESD-IC co-design methodology for high-performance mixed-signal ICs and broadband radio-frequency (RF) ICs • Discusses CAD-based ESD protection design optimization and prediction using both Technology and Electrical Computer-Aided Design (TCAD/ECAD) simulation • Addresses new ESD CAD algorithms and tools for full-chip ESD physical design verification • Explores the disruptive future outlook of ESD protection Practical ESD Protection Design is a valuable reference for industrial engineers and academic researchers in the field, and an excellent textbook for electronic engineering courses in semiconductor microelectronics and integrated circuit designs.

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is one of the most prevalent threats to electronic components. In an ESD event, a finite amount of charge is transferred from one object (i.e., human body) to another (i.e., microchip). This process can result in a very high current passing through the microchip within a very short period of time. Thus, more than 35 percent of single-event chip damages can be attributed to ESD events, and designing ESD structures to protect integrated circuits against the ESD stresses is a high priority in the semiconductor industry. Electrostatic Discharge Protection: Advances and Applications delivers timely coverage of component- and system-level ESD protection for semiconductor devices and integrated circuits. Bringing together contributions from internationally respected researchers and engineers with expertise in ESD design, optimization, modeling, simulation, and characterization, this book bridges the gap between theory and practice to offer valuable insight into the state of the art of ESD protection. Amply illustrated with tables, figures, and case studies, the text: Instills a deeper understanding of ESD events and ESD protection design principles Examines vital processes including Si CMOS, Si BCD, Si SOI, and GaN technologies Addresses important aspects pertinent to the modeling and simulation of ESD protection solutions Electrostatic Discharge Protection: Advances and Applications provides a single source for cutting-edge information vital to the research and development of effective, robust ESD protection solutions for semiconductor devices and integrated circuits.

Esd in Silicon Integrated Circuits Ajith Amerasekera Charvaka Duvvury Texas Instruments Inc, Dallas, USA Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) effects in silicon integrated circuits have become a major concern as today's high circuit density technologies shrink to sub-micro dimensions. This book provides an understanding of the basic features related to ESD and deals with topics ranging from the physics of devices operating under ESD conditions to approaches for solving and improving ESD performance in advanced ICs. Features include: * Description of the methods used to reproduce ESD-type events in a controlled test environment * Analysis of the behavior of different semiconductor devices under ESD conditions, including the physics and modeling of devices * Detailed study of design and layout requirements for ESD protection circuits * Case studies showing examples of approaches to solving ESD design problems, including failure analysis Covering the state-of-the-art in circuit design for ESD prevention, this practical book is written from an industrial perspective and will appeal to engineers and scientists working in the fields of IC and transistor design. Researchers and advanced students in the fields of device/circuit modeling and semiconductor reliability, seeking to understand the fundamentals of ESD phenomena, will also find this book an invaluable reference source.

This volume is the first in a series of three books addressing Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) physics, devices, circuits and design across the full range of integrated circuit technologies. ESD Physics and Devices provides a concise treatment of the ESD phenomenon and the physics of devices operating under ESD conditions. Voldman presents an accessible introduction to the field for engineers and researchers requiring a solid grounding in this important area. The book contains advanced CMOS, Silicon On Insulator, Silicon Germanium, and Silicon Germanium Carbon. In addition it also addresses ESD in advanced CMOS with discussions on shallow trench isolation (STI), Copper and Low K materials. Provides a clear understanding of ESD device physics and the fundamentals of ESD phenomena. Analyses the behaviour of semiconductor devices under ESD conditions. Addresses the growing awareness of the problems resulting from ESD phenomena in advanced integrated circuits. Covers ESD testing, failure criteria and scaling theory for CMOS, SOI (silicon on insulator), BiCMOS and BiCMOS SiGe (Silicon Germanium) technologies for the first time. Discusses the design and development implications of ESD in semiconductor technologies. An invaluable reference for EMC non-specialist engineers and researchers working in the fields of IC and transistor design. Also, suitable for researchers and advanced students in the fields of device/circuit modelling and semiconductor reliability.

This comprehensive and insightful book discusses ESD protection circuit design problems from an IC designer's perspective. On-Chip ESD Protection for Integrated Circuits: An IC Design Perspective provides both fundamental and advanced materials needed by a circuit designer for designing ESD protection circuits, including: Testing models and standards adopted by U.S. Department of Defense, EIA/JEDEC, ESD Association, Automotive Electronics Council, International Electrotechnical Commission, etc. ESD failure analysis, protection devices, and protection of sub-circuits Whole-chip ESD protection and ESD-to-circuit interactions Advanced low-parasitic compact ESD protection structures for RF and mixed-signal IC's Mixed-mode ESD simulation-design methodologies for design prediction ESD-to-circuit interactions, and more! Many real world ESD protection circuit design examples are provided. The book can be used as a reference book for working IC designers and as a textbook for students in the IC design field.

More than that, this modification simultaneously introduces benefits including high robustness and low overshoot voltage. For high voltage pins, however, it presents another story for ESD designs. The high operation voltages require that a high trigger voltage and high holding voltage, so as to reduce the false trigger and latch-up risk. For several capacitive pins, the displacement current induced by a large snapback will cause severe damage to internal circuits. A novel design on SCR is proposed to minimize the snapback with adjustable trigger and holding voltage. Thanks to the additional a PIN diode, the similar high robustness and stable thermal leakage performance to SCR is maintained. For academic purpose of ESD design, it is always difficult to obtain the complete process deck in TCAD simulation because those information are highly confidential to the companies. Another challenge of using TCAD is the difficulty of maintaining the accuracy of physics models and predicting the performance of the other structures. In this dissertation a TCAD-aid ESD design methodology is used to evaluate ESD performance before the silicon shuttle. GaN is a promising material for high-voltage high-power RF application compared to the GaAs. However, distinct from GaAs, the leaky problem of the schottky junction and the lack of choice of passive/active components in GaN technology limit the ESD protection design, which will be discussed in this dissertation. However, a promising ESD protection clamp is finally developed based on depletion-mode pHEMT with adjustable trigger voltage, reasonable leakage current and high robustness.

Electrostatic Discharge is a pervasive issue in the semiconductor industry affecting both manufacturers and users of semiconductors. This easy-to-read, practical handbook presents an overview of ESD as it effects electronic circuits and provides a concise introduction for students, engineers, circuit designers and failure analysts.