Hot electron reliability and ESD latent damage

Abstract

The authors present a study of the impact of noncatastrophic electrostatic-discharge (ESD) stress on hot-electron reliability as well as the effect of hot electron (HE) injection on ESD protection threshold. It is found that there is a factor of two to four deterioration in hot-electron reliability after low-level ESD stress. These two effects can be viewed as similar in that HE is a low-current long-time process and ESD is a high-current short-time process. Therefore the techniques for characterizing hot-electron degradation have been applied to quantify damage due to ESD stress. This technique shows electrical evidence of current filaments during an ESD.<>