Radiation-Stimulated Failure Mechanism in a Dielectrically Isolated Integrated Circuit

An apparent latchup condition was observed in a hi-rel dielectrically isolated integrated circuit. The failure mechanism was analyzed and isolated through the use of nondestructive laboratory and radiation tests, and was found to be caused by a short circuit in one of the component transistors of the integrated circuit. This defect remained undetected throughout one-hundred percent high-reliability, quality control, and screening tests. Upon probing and optically viewing the device, the defect was verified to be a collector-to-base metallization short in the suspect transistor. Removal of this short returned the device to proper operation.