Author: dnathan
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ESD basic: Silicon Control Rectifier (SCR)
SCR intro: Silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs) are interesting devices that can be used for on-chip ESD protection, if (and only if) they are properly designed and biased. SCRs are used for high-speed/RF or low-capacitance, small area/high-performance ESD solutions in all CMOS technologies, including SOI and FinFET (down to 3nm today). SCR…
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ggNMOS (grounded-gated NMOS)
ggNMOS intro: For decades, a traditional workhorse device for ESD protection for standard applications in CMOS technology has been the grounded-gate NMOS device (ggNMOS). Nevertheless, we have been explaining the operation of this device countless times, including as recently as 3 weeks ago. So, it is time for a short…
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Let’s talk about 2023
Sofics’ CEO outlook for 2023… 2023 will be a year of opportunity to invest in our readiness to grow and flourish in 2024. Whatever your semiconductor business, your key assets: team, skills, technology, processes, and reputation, should not go to waste.
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Selecting custom ESD IP for your next IC
Fabless semiconductor companies usually use third-party IP blocks when developing ICs. An important IP is on-chip ESD protection. Caution must be exercised in choosing the right ESD IP to avoid patent infringement and inefficient ESD clamps. Thomas Ako made a presentation about the IP selection process on the 2021 IP-SOC event…
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2022 Semiconductor Industry Outlook
It’s Christmas 2021. The semiconductor industry is flooded with income: all fabs run at or above maximum capacity, volumes are in short supply while prices of wafers and ICs are floating up. Electronics are everywhere in our lock-down offices and private homes, and in many other systems and services that…
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Optical communication also requires ESD protection
In the past, Fiber-optic communication was used for long distance communication (50 km and beyond). Only a limited number of these high-end interface products were required worldwide. More recently, companies running large data centers (Facebook, Google, Amazon,…) like to replace the traditional cabling between server racks. The copper-based approach is…
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ESD protection for FinFET processes
High performance applications like server CPUs in a datacenter are typically made using the most advanced semiconductor processing technology. The latest process node provides benefits like lower power dissipation, higher transistor density and higher processing speed. However, IC designers developing chips in such advanced processes need to take extra efforts…