Use of Electrothermal Simulation to Analyze Thermal Breakdown on N+/P/P+ Diode During ESD Pulse

Electrothermal simulators are efficient tools to study Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) problems. We use the numerical 2D simulator TMA-MEDICI [1] to simulate electrothermal problems. We propose here an analysis of thermal breakdown occurrence observed on a PIN diode under reverse ESD pulse. Experimental studies and analytical models have already been proposed [2,3,4]. Nevertheless, simulations coupled with experimental results allowed the study of the failure mode evolution. This new approach led to a better understanding of the main physical mechanisms involved in thermal breakdown phenomenon.