Analysis of Safe Operating Area of NLDMOS and PLDMOS Transistors Subject to Transient Stresses

Transient safe operating area (TSOA) of n-type and p-type laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor (LDMOS) subject to transient stresses is presented for electrostatic discharge applications. LDMOS devices connected in the gate-grounded and gate-biased configurations are stressed with 1-, 2-, 5-, 10-, and 100-ns duration transmission line pulses, and a methodology to develop an effective and accurate TSOA based on these measurements is discussed. Two-dimensional technology computer-aided design simulations are also used to discuss critical physical mechanisms governing the current conduction during the transients and the condition that finally leads to device failure beyond the TSOA.