How repeated spot microdischarges damage microdevices
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - 10:31
in Physics & Chemistry
In microelectronics, devices made up of two electrodes separated by an insulating barrier are subject to multiple of microdischarges - referred to as microfilaments - at the same spot. These stem from residual excited atoms and ions from within the material, the surface charge deposited on the insulating part of the device, and local temperature build-up. These reoccurences can lead to the creation of pin-holes in the material of the microelectronic devices where they occur, and are due to local reductions in the electric field. Now, Jozef Ráhel and colleagues from Masaryk University in the Czech Republic have elucidated the mechanism of microdischarge reoccurrence, by attributing it to the temperature increase in a single microdischarge.