A study of flip-flop IC upset exposed by ESD radiated fields

How ESD events cause upset to devices is discussed. A flip-flop IC (type “74xx74”) is used as a test device to observe how ESD fields are coupled into devices. EMI from the ESD event is measured as well as the di/dt characteristics of metal objects. It was determined that the IC upset can occur under low-voltage ESD (such as 600V) and normal digital circuit operating conditions. Contributing factors to IC upset problems will be given.