Measurement-Based Validation of Integrated Circuit Transient Electromagnetic Event Sensors

Determining the components or coupling paths responsible for soft failures during transient testing is challenging because the components are hidden within the product and because measuring internal voltages or currents during a transient test may not be practical. Adding cables to make voltage or current measurements may be difficult and may alter the test results. To overcome this problem, in this article, two compact sensors are designed to measure the peak over or undervoltage on a trace or pin during a transient electromagnetic event. One sensor uses an analog-to-digital converter to store the peak voltage digitally and the other sensor uses an external capacitor to store an analog measure of the peak voltage for a period of time. The sensors are designed to wirelessly transmit the peak level to a remote receiver using the frequency-modulated electric and magnetic fields so that no cables or other changes to the system are needed. The proof-of-concept of the sensors was implemented in an integrated circuit using 180 nm technology. The sensor performance is characterized by direct injection and by using them to detect the peak voltage on a universal serial bus (USB) cable during a cable-guided transient event. Both sensors successfully detected and transmitted the peak level of the event.