Home / Services / Semiconductor technology for ESD reliability

Semiconductor technology for ESD reliability

We find out what your process components can take under ESD stress, then help you optimize the technology and its design kit around that data.

What we do

Every ESD-robust product starts with the technology. We characterize the safe area of operation of your components and turn the results into test chips, design rules and models.

Semiconductor technology optimization for ESD reliability
ESD safe operating area (SOA) characterization of the components in your PDK: oxide and junction breakdown voltages, transient ESD SOA and figures of merit
ESD test chip design to develop the ESD IP library, ESD design rules and ESD models for circuit simulation
Transmission line pulse (TLP) characterization hardware for your test house

Who this is for

Semiconductor technology foundries and IDMs that want ESD-ready process technologies and design kits.

Current versus voltage plot of the ESD safe operating area — The ESD safe operating area: IC normal operation, safe ESD operation, and gate-oxide failure beyond the ESD power-to-failure curve.

From device physics to design data

We combine measurement, TCAD and compact modeling to understand the effects that decide ESD performance.

TLP curve of an nDEMOS device with TCAD cross-sections in breakdown and snapback — TLP characteristics of an nDEMOS device with TCAD cross-sections in breakdown and in snapback. Parasitic bipolar operation, conductivity modulation and base push-out are the main effects to model.

Current-voltage curves of a space-application component at −55, 25 and 125 degrees Celsius — New semiconductor components for space applications, characterized at different temperatures following the MIL family of standards, in collaboration with FACET Ltd.

Diagram of Novorell’s expertise across foundry, PDK, library vendor, design house and qualification — Where our expertise sits along the technology lifetime. Our core areas are shown in red.

NextESD design tools

Tell us about your ESD challenge

Send a short description of your technology, product or failure and we will tell you how we would approach it.