Low Frequency Noise Measurements for ESD Latent Defect Detection in High Reliability Applications

To increase the reliability of embedded systems and more particularly in high reliability applications such as the aerospace application, it is important to guarantee that the integrated parts are free of any defect. To achieve this goal, one way consists of screening parts before their integration. In this paper, low frequency noise (LFN) measurement is proposed as a method to detect that a circuit underwent an ESD stress. Potentialities of this technique are assessed on a simple device, a GCNMOS ESD protection and a digital circuit.