Title :
A SCR-based ESD protection for MEMS — Merits and challenges
Author :
Sangameswaran, Sandeep ; Thijs, Steven ; Scholz, Mirko ; De Coster, Jeroen ; Linten, Dimitri ; Groeseneken, Guido ; De Wolf, Ingrid
Author_Institution :
imec, Heverlee, Belgium
Abstract :
A silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) is presented as an ESD protection device for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in a MEMS-on-CMOS process flow. Measurements on SiGe MEMS devices have been performed and the SCR is shown to provide the Class0 MEMS with protection levels up to 5.5kV HBM. The effect of the MEMS capacitance on the SCR robustness during ESD is investigated. Through simulations and measurements, the scope of the proposed ESD protection scheme has been evaluated. Current overshoots caused by large MEMS capacitances (>;100pF) are shown to be a potential issue in the SCR operation.
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; Ge-Si alloys; electrostatic discharge; micromechanical devices; rectifiers; MEMS capacitance effect; MEMS-on-CMOS process flow; SCR-based ESD protection device; SiGe; current overshoot; microelectromechanical system; silicon-controlled rectifier; CMOS integrated circuits; Electrostatic discharge; Micromechanical devices; Performance evaluation; Stress; Thyristors; Voltage measurement;
Conference_Titel :
Electrical Overstress/Electrostatic Discharge Symposium (EOS/ESD), 2011 33rd
Conference_Location :
Anaheim, CA
Electronic_ISBN :
Pending
