On the Effects of Transient Electromagnetic Interference on Integrated Circuits

摘要

Semiconductor devices are often the source, as well as the victim, of electromagnetic interference (Fig. 1). Possible mechanisms for coupling of electromagnetic noise include wire connections such as the supply lines, coupling of the package leads to electric or magnetic fields, or even coupling of the fields directly to the silicon chip. Susceptibility to electromagnetic noise has played a significant role in the design of ICs for many years. Although ICs have efficient protection structures against transient disturbances such as electrostatic discharge (ESD), the IC may withstand less and less electrical noise on power and signal pins due to a continuous decrease of supply voltage. The usual noise margin is ±20% of the nominal supply voltage. In modern 90 nm CMOS processes, the supply voltage of 1 V leads to a ±200 mV noise margin. The amount of noise required to cause a malfunction can vary widely from one IC design to another.