A Novel Physical Model for the SCR ESD Protection Device Alexandru Romanescu (1)(2), Pascal Fonteneau (1), Charles-Alexandre Legrand (1), Philippe Ferrari (2), Jean-Daniel Arnould (2), Jean-Robert Manouvrier (1), Helene Beckrich-Ros (1) (1) ST Microelectronics, 850 rue Jean Monnet, 38926 Crolles Cedex, France tel.:+334 76 92 61 46, e-mail: alexandru.romanescu@st.com (2) Institute of Microelectronics, Electromagnetism, and Photonics (IMEP-LAHC), UMR 5130 CNRS, Grenoble INP, UJF, Univ. of Savoy, BP 257, 3 parvis Louis Neel, 38016 Grenoble cedex 1, France. 50 Words Abstract - The SCR (silicon controlled rectifier) is one of the most efficient ESD protection devices. In order to improve the accuracy, convergence, scalability, and the parameter extraction and support time, a new model was developed. It aims to reach its goals through a stronger relation between the physical phenomena and its constitutive equations. The compact model was validated in CMOS 40 nm and CMOS 130 nm technologies. I. Introduction In the context of increased demand from the industry of more accurate, scalable and easier to maintain ESD protection devices models, many studies regarding the SCR (silicon controlled rectifier) have been carried out throughout the world. All of them are based on the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) device (the SCR – a pnpn device – being similar to a pair of npn and pnp interconnected BJTs (see Figure 1)). We can identify two main approaches. The first uses only BJTs – with an advanced electrical model (ST- BJT or vbic) – in order to model the behaviour of the SCR [1-4]. The most important drawbacks are that (i) several unneeded phenomena are modelled, unnecessarily burdening and complicating the model and (ii) the plethora of available parameters allows us to fit the main characteristics at both low and high current, but we tend to model certain aspects with equations that do not have any physical support (the phenomenon modelled in the BJT differs from the one in the SCR). The later has a very high impact on the scalability of the model and over the parameter extraction procedure. The second approach pays a greater respect to the SCR particularities [5,6]. It divides it into two functioning states: one before the snapback, modelled with 2 BJTs, and a second one, at high injection, usually modelled with a pin diode. This separation comes with two concerns: (i) the model is less consistent and might lead to divergence related problems due to its discontinuity and (ii) the switching point, being strongly related to the snapback, should be an output of the model, given by the other effects, and not an empirical input. Figure 1: SCR represented by 2 BJTs. Model support and parameter extraction are important resource-consuming tasks. A good model should not only take into account the complexity-accuracy trade- off, but also the efficiency of the related parameter extraction strategy and maintainability. The newly developed model aims to solve problems like divergence, versatility (as the ability to be used in