On randomness and reliability of electronic devices: A case-study of thick dielectrics

In a recent article, the author discussed the growing importance of process-related variability and stress-induced reliability in electronic devices and how it complicates the design of complex IC predicated on transistors of identical characteristics. Various circuit techniques developed to address these variability and reliability issues were also discussed. In this article, I continue the discussion emphasizing that the problems of variability and reliability are connected at more nuanced and fundamental levels. I use the theory of dielectric breakdown of thick insulators relevant for wide variety of practical problems to illustrate this connection.