Microwave interference effects in integrated circuits

The effects of conducted microwave energy on bipolar and CMOS integrated circuits is being investigated by McDonnell Douglas under contract to the Navy. Three types of EM effects are under study: interference to active devices, degradation, and catastrophic failure. The predominant circuit failure mechanism is rectification of the microwave signal in various p-n junctions of the circuit, especially the parasitic junctions resulting from the collector, isolation islands, diffused resistors, etc. Measurements at 0.22, 0.91, 3.0, 5.6, and 9.1 GHz have shown that rectification follows classical detector theory with decreasing rectification efficiency at the higher frequencies. A computer is used to control the experimental conditions for the integrated circuit studies and also monitors the many responses of the device under test at up to 16 pins.