ESD evaluation of tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) devices

In this work, we study and compare the dielectric breakdown and human body model electrostatic discharge (ESD) failure levels of tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) sensors. An equivalent circuit for the TMR device is developed and used in SPICE circuit simulations to study its response to electrostatic discharge. Dielectric breakdown averaged 2.3 V and ESD testing showed device shorting at 8.6 V HBM.