Training: Failure Analysis of Electronic Devices

Course Objectives

The supply chain of electronic devices is large and complex. It comprises designers, component suppliers, board manufacturers and assembly providers. When something goes wrong, the failure mechanism is not always obvious. It is the role of the Failure Analysis team to establish the link between the failure mode and the failure mechanism. Once that link is understood, the path to the solution and the responsible party for it becomes clear. In this course we will review the tools of failure analysis, explaining each technique and what information it provides. Concrete examples will be used.

Target Audience

This course presents an overview of failure analysis techniques for design engineers, component engineers, and quality engineers who may not be familiar with the physics behind FA tools available to them, internally or externally, to resolve their design, customer returns, or supplier quality issues.

About the Instructor

Martine Simard-Normandin, PhD
President, MuAnalysis Inc.

Dr. Simard-Normandin has over 40 years experience in microelectronics, specializing in semiconductor device physics, reverse engineering and electrical and material characterization. She has authored or co-authored more than 50 scientific journal and conference papers on microanalysis. Dr. Simard-Normandin holds a B.Sc. in physics from the Université de Montréal, a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Toronto. She was awarded an Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowship from the American Physical Society, focusing on microelectronics, and recently the prestigious Medal of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the Université de Montréal. Dr. Simard-Normandin has held the positions of Manager – Materials and Device Analysis at STMicroelectronics’ Centre for Microanalysis and Manager of Materials and Structures Analysis at Nortel Networks. In 2002 she founded MuAnalysis Inc., a privately-owned Canadian company offering expertise in failure analysis, materials analysis and reliability testing.

Outline

Introduction
Why is FA important
8D reports
Supply chain
Failure modes vs failure mechanisms
Localisation

The tools of FA and what they tell you with case studies

LEVEL 1 FA
Visual Inspection
Metallurgical. LSM
XRAY imaging
2D, 2.5D, 3D
Acoustic microscopy
Plan view, Through-scan
Electrical verification
Decapsulation

LEVEL 2 FA
Micro-probing
Thermography
Liquid crystal
Emission microscopy
Front side, Back side
OBIC, OBIRCH, TIVA
Design for FA

LEVEL 3 FA
Delayering
SEM imaging
Plan view, Cross-sections , EDX analysis
Focused Ion Beam (FIB)
Micro-sections
Microsurgery (FIB Edits)
Less common but useful
FTIR spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy
TEM, SIMS, AES, XPS

Active discrete components FA examples 
Power transistors
Diodes
LEDs
Lasers
MEMS

Packaging and assembly failures
Bond wire failures
BGA issue examples
Dye and Pry
Passive component FA examples
Board level FA issues

Standards for reliability
JEDEC
IPC

Counterfeit components
What to look for
Examples

Conclusion

Price and Registration
Registrant Price
FABrIC Member $225
General $450
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Contact

James Millar

Technical Staff, Embedded Systems Design

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