New latchup mechanism in complementary bipolar power ICs triggered by backside die attach Glue
Abstract It is shown that in complementary bipolar power ICs latchup can be caused by a thyristor formed by the V-PNP power transistor at the frontside of the die and a Ag-filled glue die attach at the backside of the die (used to provide a good thermal contact between the die and the Cu-heatsink. The thyristor is triggered by saturation of the V-PNP power transistors or by forward biasing the backside diode between Ag-filled glue and p-type silicon. The effect is strongly temperature dependent. It can be eliminated by either leaving the backside floating or by applying backside metallization. Consequences for latchup qualification testing are discussed.