Oscillatory Transmission Line Pulsing for Characterization of Device Transient Response

An oscillatory transmission line pulse generation system is introduced. This measurement system allows one to observe the response of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device to a large-amplitude radio-frequency damped sinusoid; such waveforms mimic ESD tests. The trigger voltage of silicon-controlled rectifiers used for ESD protection is observed to be dependent on the past state of the device, due to charge storage in the bipolar bases.