ESD Detection Circuit and Associated Metal Fuse Investigations in CMOS Processes

A circuit to detect and record the occurrence of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) event on a powered or unpowered integrated-circuit (IC) chip is presented. The ESD detection circuit uses metal fuses for memory and has been experimentally verified in a commercial CMOS process to operate with 500 V or higher human body model (HBM) discharges. Experimental studies of metal fuses are also present…