Short-timescale thermal mapping of semiconductor devices

We report spatial mapping of temperature fields in semiconductor devices with sub-microsecond temporal resolution. The measurements are performed at a facility that integrates scanning laser-reflectance thermometry with electrical stressing capability. Data for SOI LDMOS transistors investigate transient heat diffusion within the buried silicon dioxide and capture large temperature gradients in the drift region, which result from the spatially-varying impurity concentration. The new thermometry facility is promising for the study of transistor and interconnect thermal failure due to electrostatic discharge (ESD).