Off-state TDDB in FinFET Technology and its Implication for Safe Operating Area

Standard CMOS reliability has been focused on digital applications and the user profiles associated with these products. However, emerging applications in mobility, automotive, communication networks and data centers require additional, more rigorous reliability specifications. For these applications, the devices operate beyond the typical safe operation area (SOA) mostly because large drain biases are applied during the normal operation. In this situation, off-state TDDB could be a concern and it must be considered during product design. In this study, we present the models to describe off-state TDDB and the methodology to accurately predict the SOA for circuits under standard operation condition in field. The presented SOA approach relaxed the stringent reliability requirements defined on DC operation, reducing design overhead, and developing and verification costs.