Category Archives: Qualification

Understanding ESD HBM in IC Design

In building integrated circuits (ICs) or ASICs, one area of concern is how they are protected from outside electrical sources. While most systems are geared towards power overloads, one source that may cause considerable damage is the electro-static discharge (ESD) that comes from the human body. To help test for

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Managing ASIC Qualification – A Quick Guide

Many IC designers pay little attention to ASIC qualification and consequently pay high price and delays before the chip reaches to high volume. The mindset of experienced IC designers is considering IC quality (and reliability) through all phases of the IC design process. Today, more than ever, re-tapeout is costly

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How to bulletproof your ASIC Design

As the ASIC design is moving towards maskset creation and tapeout, the cost of design changes are increasing exponentially.  It’s easier and cheaper to modify the ASIC design and even redo some of the chip architecture early the design stage. However it’s much more difficult and far more expensive after

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Low Parasitic HBM ESD Testing

The Human Body Model (HBM) Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) test is the oldest and most widely used ESD test in the electronics industry. The JEDEC HBM test isn’t static; it has been revised to keep up with the rapid changes in the semiconductor industry. The latest revision of the spec addresses failures

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CDM ESD Testing: Getting a Clearer Picture

ESD

Of all of the component-level ESD tests available, the CDM ESD (charged-device model) test is the closest to simulating real world events. CDM ESD testing simulates ESD charging followed by a rapid discharge, similar to what is seen in the automated handling, manufacturing, and assembly of IC devices. Unfortunately, the CDM

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Electrostatic Discharge vs Electromigration

ESD

This is a guest post by Naman Gupta, a Static Timing Analysis (STA) engineer at a leading semiconductor company in India.

Electrostatic Discharge and Electromigration might sound similar, but refer to two different physical phenomena. Let’s take them up one by one.
 
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) is the large current flow between any

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