Characterization of the susceptibility of integrated circuits with induction caused by high power microwaves

This paper examines malfunction and destruction of semiconductors by high power microwaves. The experiments employ a waveguide and a magnetron to study the influence of high power microwaves on TTL/CMOS IC inverters. The TTL/CMOS IC inverters are composed of a LED circuit for visual discernment. A CMOS IC inverter damaged by a high power microwave is observed with power supply current and delay time. When the power supply current was increased 2.14 times for normal current at 10 kV/m, the CMOS inverter was broken by latch-up. The CMOS inverter damaged by latch-up returned its original level of functioning, because parasitic impedance inside the chip increased with the elapse of time. Three different types of damage were observed by microscopic analysis: component, onchipwire, and bondwire destruction. Based on the results, TTL/CMOS IC inverters can be applied to database to elucidate the effects of microwaves on electronic equipment.