Design-Dependent Variability of Pulse Hardness of Types of Discrete Semiconductor Devices (Intervendor Variations).
Abstract
The differences in the pulse hardness of several types of low-power transistors due to different designs (from different manufactures) of each type were investigated. A knowledge of the differences that are possible is desirable for electromagnetic pulse (EMP) vulnerability analyses of electronic systems for which, in general, only the occuring device types but not their specific designs are known. The pulse hardness is characterized by the power of a 1us square pulse of voltage necessary and sufficient to cause failure or second breakdown in a reverse biased junction. This power was determined by the process of step stressing for both the emitter-to-base and collector-bo-base junctions. Two commercial types from 29 and 30 vendors, respectively, and four JAN types from a maximum of 6 vendors were investigated. Each commercial type occurred in 16 different designs. In one commercial type, the failure power of the collector-to-base junctions varied by more than four orders of magnitude, and the failure power of the emitter-to-base junctions varied by more than two orders of magnitude. In two of the JAN types investigated, a range of specimen failure powers of the collector-to-base junctions of more than three orders of magnitude was found; in one type, the mean values of samples (20 specimen per sample) varied by about a factor of 50. The variation of the failure powers of the emitter-to-base junctions in the JAN investigated was negligible. Design-dependent variations of the failure levels of specimens of one type are thus possible that are orders ofmagnitude larger than previously thought, and consideration of these variations in systems analyses seems warranted.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA125776
Entities
People
- Bruno M. Kalab
Organizations
- Harry Diamond Laboratories