Qualification Tests for Components and Assemblies

Components and materials, as well as externally procured assemblies, can have a major impact on the quality and reliability of the equipment and systems in which they are used. Their selection and qualification must therefore be considered carefully. Besides cost and availability on the market, important selection criteria are the intended application (specific stresses), technology, quality, long-term behavior of relevant parameters, and reliability. A qualification includes a characterization at different thermal and electrical stresses, environmental tests, reliability tests, and failure analysis. This chapter deals first with the selection criteria for electronic components (Section 3.1) and then considers qualification tests for complex integrated circuits (Section 3.2), failure modes, mechanisms, and analysis of electronic components (Section 3.3), and qualificatoin tests for electronic assemblies (Section 3.4). Screening of components and assemblies are considered in Sections 8.2 and 8.3, respectively. Design guidelines for reliability at component and assembly levels are given in Section 5.1.