ABSTRACT
In the automotive industry, complex electronic systems are developed to enable advanced remote applications, such as airbag control, antilock braking systems, relay drivers, transmission, cruise controls, etc. that require mixed-signal technologies and more particularly, smart power technologies. In these applications, environment is quite severe in terms of temperature and types of stress (electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), electrostatic discharges (ESD), load dump, etc.), whereas reliability is critical to ensure the safety of the vehicle with a drastic objective of zero ppm failure. Regarding ESD protection, requirements are much more demanding than in consumer applications with at least a 2-kV human body model (HBM) and specific pins required to withstand up to 15-kV contact discharge and 25-kV air discharge. Designing ESD protections in smart power technologies is thus very challenging. In this chapter, we will review these challenges and give some important design guidelines and methodologies for efficient ESD protection both at chip and system levels.
