What is ESD (electrostatic discharge)?
A sudden discharge of static electricity from a charged person or object. Applied to an IC pin it can destroy gate oxides and other structures, so I/O pins have protection circuits.
Field: Reliability
ESD (electrostatic discharge) in the explanations
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) from people or equipment can reach thousands of volts, while gate oxides a few nm thick fail at a few volts.
What is the main role of ESD protection diodes connected to…I/O pins therefore have ESD protection circuits made of protection diodes and the like, which divert the discharge current to the power supply or ground.
What is provided at an LSI's I/O pins as a countermeasure a…Static electricity (kilovolts) can easily cause it, so IC I/Os include ESD protection, and even power MOSFETs are rated around ±20 V gate-to-source.
What failure can occur when a voltage far above the rating …
Questions that mention ESD (electrostatic discharge) (9)
- What is the main role of ESD protection diodes connected to the input/output pins of an IC?
- What is provided at an LSI's I/O pins as a countermeasure against ESD (electrostatic discharge)?
- Among ESD (electrostatic discharge) test models, which pair correctly names "discharge when a charged person touches an IC pin" and "discharge when the IC itself is charged and a pin touches metal"?
- What failure can occur when a voltage far above the rating is applied between the gate and source of a MOSFET?
- Which standard is widely used as the reliability qualification standard for automotive integrated circuits?
- Which device supplies ions to the air in a cleanroom to neutralize charge on wafers and equipment?
- Which is one correct reason for not letting cleanroom humidity become extremely low?
- What is the main reason conductive (static-dissipative) materials are used for cleanroom floors and workbenches?
- In handling isopropyl alcohol (IPA), used for drying and cleaning wafers, which property requires particular care?
Related terms
HBM TDDB (time-dependent dielectric breakdown) Arrhenius model Bathtub curve Electromigration FIT rate Hot carrier injection (HCI) Latch-up MTTF (mean time to failure) NBTI (negative bias temperature instability)