An integrated circuit device includes a substrate having adjacent first and second regions, and a device isolation structure in the substrate between the first and second regions. In one embodiment, an outage detection system includes a signal sampler configured to sample a signal on a communications link and to determine a noise level and a signal level of the sample. The insulating block is disposed directly on the element isolation insulator. A desiccant treatment containing a desiccant is added to the liquid inoculant to form a partially desiccated inoculant product.