Masters Theses

Keywords and Phrases

Detectors; Electrostatic Discharge; ESD; On-die; Sensors; Transient Event

Abstract

"Failures caused by transient electromagnetic events like Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) are a major concern for embedded systems. The component often failing is an integrated circuit (IC). Determining which IC is affected in a multi-device system is a challenging task. Debugging errors often requires sophisticated lab setups which require intentionally disturbing and probing various parts of the system which might not be easily accessible. Opening the system and adding probes may change its response to the transient event, which further compounds the problem.

On-die transient event sensors were developed that require relatively little area on die, making them inexpensive, they consume negligible static current, and do not interfere with normal operation of the IC. These circuits can be used to determine the pin involved and the level of the event in the event of a transient event affecting the IC, thus allowing the user to debug system-level transient events without modifying the system.

The circuit and detection scheme design has been completed and verified in simulations with Cadence Virtuoso environment. Simulations accounted for the impact of the ESD protection circuits, parasitics from the I/O pin, package and I/O ring, and included a model of an ESD gun to test the circuit's response to an ESD pulse as specified in IEC 61000-4-2. Multiple detection schemes are proposed. The final detection scheme consists of an event detector and a level sensor. The event detector latches on the presence of an event at a pad, to determine on which pin an event occurred. The level sensor generates current proportional to the level of the event. This current is converted to a voltage and digitized at the A/D converter to be read by the microprocessor. Detection scheme shows good performance in simulations when checked against process variations and different kind of events"--Abstract, page iii.

Advisor(s)

Beetner, Daryl G.

Committee Member(s)

Pommerenke, David
Shi, Yiyu

Department(s)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Degree Name

M.S. in Electrical Engineering

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

2015

Pagination

xiv, 133 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 131-132).

Rights

© 2015 Mihir Vimal Suchak, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Thesis Number

T 11151

Electronic OCLC #

1003210527

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