EMI susceptibility: The achilles' heel of smart power ICs

In this paper the main causes of failures induced by radio frequency interference in elementary integrated circuits (ICs) are summarized, then more complex devices like smart power ICs are considered and a method to evaluate their susceptibility to such disturbances is presented. The weakness of smart power ICs against radio frequency interference is highlighted referring to the results of measurements carried out on a test chip composed of a power MOS and an analog block both integrated in the same silicon die but electrically isolated one to each other.