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 JEDEC17 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 in-situ monitoring of the voltages and currents at the DUT during triggering and helps to gain fundamental insights into the underlying mechanisms.