ESD can cause device failure in one of several different ways. Listed below are the most common failure modes. For a discussion of each mode, see the cross referenced definition. Thermal secondary breakdown Metallization meltdown Dielectric breakdown Gaseous arc discharge Bulk breakdown Metallization Meltdown or & "Fusing" Parametric Failure Surface Breakdown Joule Heating 10. Latent Defects 11. Catastrophic Failure 12. ESD Upset 13. Electrical Overstress
The underlying cause of a defect. For example, a detected circuit open (a "fault") may be caused by a break in an aluminum interconnect (a "defect"), which in turn was produced by electromigration activity (the "failure mechanism").