Transient induced latch-up triggered by very fast pulses

The sensitivity of devices to latch-up triggered by short duration pulses is an often overlooked root cause for severe field failures. Standard JEDEC 17 tests applying quasi-static voltages and currents often fail to identify these problems. In addition, wide pulses may cause thermal damage in the device before it triggers. In this paper we introduce a new analytical test technique on the basis of very fast square pulses. The method allows the insitu monitoring of the voltages and currents at the DUT during triggering and helps to gain fundamental insights into the underlying mechanisms.