Improved ESD Concepts for High Voltage Applications
A growing set of IC applications require a high voltage interface. Examples include power management, power conversion and automotive chips with interfaces typically between 12V and 100V. Also mobile devices like cell phones and personal navigation devices today include interfaces above 10V to e.g. control and sense MEMS gyroscopic or compass sensors. And, most LCD/OLED display technologies require driving voltages between 10 and 40V. Besides the power, MEMS and display interfaces many devices include some sort of motor like the optical zoom lens and shutter control of digital cameras or the ‘silent mode’ vibrator in cell phones.
Though these applications represent fast growth markets, the underlying silicon process technologies lack standardized high performance ESD solutions. The purpose of ESD protection is to provide a safe, robust current path while limiting the voltage drop below the critical voltage determined by the circuit-to-be-protected. Today, different protection clamp types are used in the industry, each with significant performance and cost burdens that prevent generic use. The main problems with traditional solutions are high leakage current, large silicon area consumption and extensive custom (trial and error) development cycles for each process/fab change.
Further, to reduce the Bill of Materials (BOM) system makers are constantly shifting requirements that were once a system/PCB issue to the IC makers. IC makers designing high voltage applications need robust and reliable ESD technology that can meet a growing set of requirements.
Sofics has developed novel ESD devices that can solve the drawbacks of the current ESD concepts while strongly reducing the development and manufacturing cost. The Sofics ‘PowerQubic’ technology is currently used in the development of several products and is being evaluated for automotive (LIN) products. The 40V solution passed very severe automotive requirements like a 45V load dump (ISO 7637-2) and various transient latch-up conditions and high IEC 61000-4-2 stress pulses. Through the IP alliance partnership with TSMC these devices are now available in its 0.25um BCD technology with no strings attached (no NRE for standard cells, no royalty).
