Abstract
The research work presented here contributes to an overall study of the electromagnetic (EM) susceptibility of Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFET's), in a frequency range from 10 MHz to 1 GHz. This device is used for general purpose: analog and digital applications. The main aim of this study is to provide a detailed understanding of the physical mechanisms involved in the device when the Radio-Frequency (RF) interference is superimposed on the gate terminal. Our study focuses on the development of a physical model, based essentially on the charge variations within the electronic device. This approach allows to understand its behavior with and without the RF interference. Indeed, the knowledge of the involved physical mechanisms is the basic understanding of EM susceptibility. When RF interference is superimposed on the MOSFET terminals, various susceptibility effects take place depending on RF power level, frequency and the transistor operation region. Due to the nonlinearity of the MOS current-voltage characteristics, RF excitations cause distorted drain current waveform which leads to a bias point shift. This modification of the average drain current is called rectification effect. So we developed a method to clearly understand the effect induced by the EM interference. This method is based on the measurement of the currents waveforms to all of the transistor access. In fact, these currents waveforms measurements give us information on the charge variations within the electronic device. Moreover, such a measurement provides access to a wide range of current information (average values, distortion, peak values, etc.). Initially, the different currents waveforms measurements were made when a voltage ramp was applied to the device gate with variable rise time in respect to the transistor response time. This allowed us to understand the large signal transient response of the MOSFET. Secondly, we measured the currents waveforms when an EM interference was injected to the gate terminal. In support of these measurements we used two computation tools: analytical and numerical. The analytical method allows prediction and identification of the quantities of the device involved in the modification of transistor's behavior. The numerical method allows electrical simulation to predict the effects of EM aggression. A static and dynamic characterization of the component was also necessary to understand the observed phenomenon and provide data to the electrical model.