Gate dielectric breakdown in the time-scale of ESD events

Transmission line pulse (TLP) measurements are used to demonstrate that oxynitride breakdown projections from DC measurements using conventional area and voltage-scaling techniques can be extended to the nanosecond time-scale. ESD protection systems can thus be designed to prevent dielectric breakdown. Important concepts in gate dielectric breakdown such as the anode-hole injection model and area and statistical effects are discussed and applied to the nanosecond regime.