ESD Device Layout Design Guidelines by 3D TCAD Simulation

3D layout design for on-chip ESD protection structure plays a key role in practical ESD protection performance for ICs, which cannot be accurately simulated by 2D TCAD simulation. This paper reports a comprehensive study of true 3D TCAD simulation of ESD protection diodes implemented in a real-world commercial memory process technology, which shows that true 3D TCAD ESD simulation can reveal transient thermal behaviors of ESD protection diodes, hence provides practical 3D layout design guidelines for ESD protection structures.