ESD failure signature in capacitive RF MEMS switches

RF MEMS are commonly known as electrostatic devices using high electric field for their actuation. They can be exposed to transient voltages in any environment, and are very sensitive. According to this point of view, it is necessary to understand and analyze the degradations and failure criteria that can make them useless or reduce their lifetime. This paper deals with the investigation of ESD failure signature in capacitive RF MEMS. ESD experiments were carried out using a transmission line pulsing technique. It has been observed that electrical discharges give rise to sparks or electrical arcing and induced DC parameter shift, which can directly lead to changes in RF metrics. The contact-less dielectric charging effects of ESD pulses have been reported in this paper. It has been found that induced charges are predominant compared to injected ones through the trend of slope of the shift in the voltage corresponding to the minimum of capacitance. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Reliability assessment of electrostatically driven MEMS devices: Based on a pulse-induced charging technique

The charging mechanism of electrostatically driven MEMS devices was investigated. This paper shows experimental results of (i) electrostatic discharge (ESD) experiments, (ii) charging mechanism modelling and (iii) Kelvin probe force microscopy tests. It highlighted dielectric failure signature occurred under ESD events and allowed understanding of the underlying breakdown mechanism. A further study of the charging effect in conditions below the breakdown was carried out. A new approach to explore trapping phenomena that take place in thin dielectric used for electrostatic actuation is reported. Indeed a pulse-induced charging (PIC) test procedure aimed at reliability assessment of electrostatically actuated MEMS devices is presented. Based on this method, a procedure for carrying out stress testing was defined and successfully demonstrated on capacitive MEMS switches. In this case, high-voltage pulses were applied as stimulus and the parameter V capamin, which is directly related to the charging of the insulator layer, was monitored. The PIC stress test results were correlated with conventional cycling stress ones. Finally, temperature-dependent measurements, ranging from 300 up to 355 K, were reported in order to validate the thermal-activated behaviour of the test structures. According to an Arrhenius model, the given reference material showed an activation energy of around 0.77 eV. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd

A Nanosatellite Optoelectronic Payload Dedicated to Radiation-Induced Degradation Measurement in Erbium-Doped Fiber

International audienceRadio over optical fiber (RoF) technologies appears as good candidates to address flexible payload requirements of the next generation of telecommunication satellites operating in Ku and Ka bands. In this context we have started the assembly of a 3U nanosatellite dedicated to the qualification of several erbium-doped fibers by using an optoelectronic metrology technique. The objective is hence to quantify the gain and noise figure degradation of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) due to cosmic ray exposure during a two years mission at a low earth orbit (LEO). This educational project is called NIMPH for "Nanosatellite to Investigate Microwave Photonics Hardware". It started in 2013 and involves students from the University of Toulouse with the support of Thales Alenia Space and CNES, the French national space agency

PSPICE model of the power LDMOS transistor for radio frequency applications in the 1.8 – 2.2 GHz Band

In this paper, we propose a model for the LDMOS transistor used for power amplification in the frequencies band 1.8–2.2 GHz dedicated to the mobile telephony system Digital Cellular System (DCS). This model takes into account the behaviour of each internal region of the power structure. A new representation of the non-linear inter-electrode capacitances, drain-gate Cgd and drain-source Cds, is proposed. The obtained model is implemented in the circuit simulator PSPICE, which gives an overall evaluation of the transistor performances in the radio frequency power amplification mode. This model is Maynly intended to the system designer. A study of the power amplification in the SHF band at 2 GHz is performed. A good agreement between experimental and simulation results is found

Accelerated lifetime test of RF-MEMS switches under ESD stress

This paper presents the results of a study on issues of reliability and accelerated life testing for radio frequency micro-electromechanical system (RF-MEMS) capacitive devices. A human-body-model electrostatic discharge tester has been used to induce charging by operating at stress levels much higher than would be expected in normal use. Temperature ranges from 300 K to 330 K allows the understanding of physical mechanisms that may be responsible for the device's reliability. Crown Copyright © 2009

Prediction of LIN communication robustness against EFT events using dedicated failure models

International audienceDuring its life, an automotive application can encounter several perturbations such as fast transient of ESD discharges. In this paper, we propose a LIN transceiver behavior model to predict both hard and soft failures within a communication link. The proposed model, extracted from measurements, is implemented into simulation as a failure block. We will show that depending on the output state of the LIN, the data reading behavior could be different. Using such model, corrections at system level can be implemented to avoid failures

Powering a Commercial Datalogger by Energy Harvesting from Generated Aeroacoustic Noise Powering a Commercial Datalogger by Energy Harvesting from Generated Aeroacoustic Noise

International audienceThis paper reports the experimental demonstration of a wireless sensor node only powered by an aeroacoustic energy harvesting device, meant to be installed on an aircraft outside skin. New results related to the physical characterization of the energy conversion process are presented. Optimized interface electronics has been designed, which allows demonstrating aeroacoustic power generation by supplying a commercial wireless datalogger in conditions representative of an actual flight