Direct Visualization of Breakdown-Induced Metal Migration in Enhanced Modified Lateral Silicon-Controlled Rectifiers

The robustness of electrostatic sensitive devices is important in state-of-the-art silicon technology. However, the electrical breakdown-induced microstructure evolution remains unclear. In this work, we performed the physical failure analysis of breakdown in an enhanced modified lateral silicon-controlled rectifier-based electrostatic discharge (ESD) device. Direct visualization of the conductive metal filaments in the doped silicon substrate has been achieved by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The locations of these metal filaments induced by breakdown are found near the cathode. The evolution of these microstructural changes and chemical properties provides guide to the failure analysis of ESD devices.