Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) & Latchup

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) and Latchup testing are used to determine an integrated circuit’s ability to handle various electrical stresses and still perform to specification. We perform our tests (up to 2,304 pins) to the industry standards (JEDEC, ESDA, Military and AEC), ensuring repeatable and reliable results.

Electrostatic charging most often occurs when two insulating materials are in contact and are then separated (triboelectric charging). Once a object has been charged it will discharge when in contact, or near contact, with a material that is at a lower potential. If either of these materials are your integrated circuit there is a potential for catastrophic or latent damage to your device. Failures that can arise from electrostatic discharge (ESD) events include: shorts, junction leakage, dielectric failure, resistor/metal fusion and material ablation.

Testing models that are used to simulate ESD events include the Human Body Model (HBM)- simulating a person who has a static charge contacting an device; Machine Model (MM)- simulating a tool developing a static charge and contacting a device; and Charged Device Model (CDM) simulating a charged device discharging to ground. Each of these models provides a different stress to the circuit and can expose different weakness of a circuit design.

High density integrated circuits can contain parasitic components that are difficult to anticipate. One of the more common failure modes is when a circuit becomes latched up. Latch-up is a condition where, due to adjacent pn junctions, a thyristor can be switched on and significant parasitic current flows. Latchup testing characterizes your circuits ability to withstand electrical stresses that attempt to induce latchup.

At EAG we use the latest industry standards to test your device with rapid turnaround. Our ESD and latchup testers can accommodate packages with 2,304 pins plus programmable vector input capability, ensuring that we can handle your most challenging samples.