Failure Analysis in Electronics Reliability

Abstract: This paper discusses failure analysis as a critical function of the reliability testing and demonstration process. Although the paper discusses electronics specifically, many of the findings apply to broader based reliability programs. The overall driving conclusion is that root cause or causes must be found for each failure mode discovered during a reliability testing and evaluation program. If the root cause is not found, then the impact of that unexplained failure must be added to the reliability allocation for the product under consideration.

Keywords: Failure Analysis - Root Cause Analysis - Reliability Allocation