Study of dynamics of charge trapping in a-Si:H/SiN TFTs

In this paper we present the study of the failure mechanism responsible for long-term degradation that ultimately leads to instability in a-Si:H/SiN TFTs. The experimental data points we obtain by monitoring in-situ the drain current during gate bias stress (forward and reverse bias) and relaxation could not be fitted with the models existent in the literature. A new model that we have christened "Progressive Degradation Model" (PDM) emerged. The model makes use of Heimann-Warfield theory of trapping/detrapping front. PDM achieves a consistent fit to any bias condition showing that the degradation can be modelled quantitatively yielding the number of traps involved, their position and the charge dispersion coefficient. According to PDM the degradation of electrical response is a combined effect of a fast interface traps generation and a slow charge trapping at the created defect sites in a-SiN:H transitional region

Rise-time effects in ggnMOSt under TLP stress

In this paper the main mechanisms that lead the turn on of the parasitic bipolar transistor of a grounded gate nMOS transistor (ggnMOS) under TLP stress have been analyzed in detail in the sub-nanoseconds range by means of a mixed-mode simulator. We showed that the breakdown voltage of the ggnMOS measured in static conditions would underestimate the maximum voltage across the protection structure obtained by TLP stress, depending on the rise-time of the applied puls

Turn-on speed of grounded gate NMOS ESD protection transistors

The turn-on speed of nMOS transistors (nMOST) is of paramount importance for robust Charged Device Model (CDM) protection circuitry. In this paper the nMOST turn-on time has been measured for the first time in the sub-halve nanosecond range with a commercial e-beam tester. The method may be used to improve CDM-ESD hardness by investigating the CDM pulse responses within circuit. Furthermore it is shown that the CDM results of various protection layouts can be simulated with a SPICE model

Degradation of x-Si:H TFTs caused by Electrostatic Discharge

This paper gives results of experimental analysis of impact of electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse on amorphous silicon thin film transistors (-Si:H TFT). The development of degradation of the electron mobility and the threshold voltage is presented. Failure analysis has been done and two failure mechanisms have been identifie

Validating foundry technologies for extended mission profiles

This paper presents a process qualification and characterization strategy that can extend the foundry process reliability potential to meet specific automotive mission profile requirements. In this case study, data and analyses are provided that lead to sufficient confidence for pushing the allowed mission profile envelope of a process towards more aggressive (automotive) applications.\ud \u

Trickster Dialogics: A Method For Articulating Cultural Archetypes From 'Q' To Performance Art

abstract: Simultaneously culture heroes and stumbling buffoons, Tricksters bring cultural tools to the people and make the world more habitable. There are common themes in these figures that remain fruitful for the advancement of culture, theory, and critical praxis. This dissertation develops a method for opening a dialogue with Trickster figures. It draws from established literature to present a newly conceived and more flexible Trickster archetype. This archetype is more than a collection of traits; it builds on itself processually to form a method for analysis. The critical Trickster archetype includes the fundamental act of crossing borders; the twin ontologies of ambiguity and liminality; the particular tactics of humor, duplicity, and shape shifting; and the overarching cultural roles of culture hero and stumbling buffoon. Running parallel to each archetypal element, though, are Trickster's overarching critical spirit of Quixotic utopianism and underlying telos of manipulating human relationships. The character 'Q' from Star Trek: The Next Generation is used to demonstrate the critical Trickster archetype. To be more useful for critical cultural studies, Trickster figures must also be connected to their socio-cultural and historical contexts. Thus, this dissertation offers a second set of analytics, a dialogical method that connects Tricksters to the worlds they make more habitable. This dialogical method, developed from the work of M. M. Bakhtin and others, consists of three analytical tools: utterance, intertextuality, and chronotope. Utterance bounds the text for analysis. Intertextuality connects the utterance, the text, to its context. Chronotope suggests particular spatio-temporal relationships that help reveal the cultural significance of a dialogical performance. Performance artists Andre Stitt, Ann Liv Young, and Steven Leyba are used to demonstrate the method of Trickster dialogics. A concluding discussion of Trickster's unique chronotope reveals its contributions to conceptions of utopia and futurity. This dissertation offers theoretical advancements about the significance and tactics of subversive communication practices. It offers a new and unique method for cultural and performative analyses that can be expanded into different kinds of dialogics. Trickster dialogics can also be used generatively to direct and guide the further development of performative praxis.Dissertation/ThesisPh.D. Communication Studies 201

Effect of Thermal Gradients on the Electromigration Lifetime in Power Electronics

The combined effects of electromigration and thermomigration are studied. Significantly shorter electromigration lifetimes are observed in the presence of a temperature gradient. This cannot be explained by thermomigration only, but is attributed to the effect of temperature gradient on electromigration-induced failures

Plasma charging damage reduction in IC processing by a self-balancing interconnect

A small TPC has been read out by means of a Medipix2 chip as direct anode. A Micromegas foil was placed Click to view the MathML source above the chip, and electron multiplication occurred in the gap. With a He/isobutane 80/20 mixture, gas multiplication factors up to tens of thousands were achieved, resulting in an efficiency for detecting single electrons of better than 90%. With this new readout technology for gas-filled detectors we recorded many image frames containing 2D images with tracks from cosmic muons. Along these tracks, electron clusters were observed, as well as ?-rays. With a gas layer thickness of only 1 mm, the device could be applied as vertex detector, outperforming all Si-based detectors

Fast thermal cycling-enhanced electromigration in power metallization

Multilevel interconnects used in power ICs are susceptible to short circuit failure due to a combination of fast thermal cycling and electromigration stresses. In this paper, we present a study of electromigration-induced extrusion short-circuit failure in a standard two level metallization currently used in power ICs and in particular the effect of fast thermal cycling on the subsequent electromigration lifetime. A special test chip was designed, in which the electromigration test structure is integrated with a heating element and a diode as temperature sensor in order to generate fast temperature swings and to monitor them. Experimental results showed that with the introduction of fast thermal cycling as a preconditioning, the electromigration lifetime is significantly reduced. We observed that the reduction of the electromigration lifetime depends on the stress time, temperature range and the minimum temperature. Electromigration simulations using a two-dimensional simulator confirm the extrusion short circuit as failure mechanism