Notes on:

Long-Term Non-Operating Reliability of Electronic Products Pecht & Pecht

Long-Term Non-Operating Reliability of Electronic Products, Judy Pecht & Michael Pecht, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1995. (119 pages).

This book provides an overview of the area of long-term non-operating reliability. It is not a data source book, but rather a discussion of the various factors of concern. In particular, chapter 2 briefly discusses five different approaches to evaluating non-operating reliability. They conclude that all the methods except the "physics-based" approach are inadequate (including RAD-TR-85-91 and its offshoot NRD87). But, the physics-based approach seems to require substantially more investment in effort than the other, more "cook-book" approaches.

This book is particularly interesting because it provides a broad overview of the failure mechanisms that degrade non-operational reliability. Table 9.A on page 101 gives a list of failure mechanisms and the parameters that influence failure rates. However, the use of a physics-based approach has not yet been widely adopted by industry.

Topic coverage: (*** = emphasized; ** = discussed with some detail; * = mentioned)

Publisher Comments:

In today's electronic environment, operating reliability for continued daily use of electronic products is essential. This book discusses the reliability of products that lie dormant for long periods of time and are subject to stresses such as humidity, ionic contaminants, temperature, radiation, shock, and vibration. Non-operating reliability is especially critical for life-saving electronic products such as fire alarm systems, standby power sources, and burglar alarms. Air bags in automobiles, earthquake alarm systems, and radiation warning systems in nuclear power plants are also covered. This physics-of-failure approach is also important to maintaining defense hardware such as missiles and munitions systems which often lie dormant for years before being deployed on very short notice.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction                                 1
   1.1 The Non-Operating Environment                   1
   1.2 Non-Operating Environments                      2
   1.3 Geographic Impact                               7
   1.4 Dormancy Environment Parameters and Values      11
   1.5 Failure Mechanisms                              11

Chapter 2 Non-Operating Reliability Assessment         15
   2.1 The RADC-TR-85-91 Method                        15
   2.2 MIL-HDBK-217 "Zero Electrical Stress" Approach  16
   2.3 The "K" Factor Approach                         16
   2.4 The Martin-Marietta Test Program                17
   2.5 The Physics-Based Approach                      18

Chapter 3 Electrical Failure Mechanisms                23
   3.1 Electrostatic Discharge                         23
   3.2 Contamination-Induced Parameter Degradation     27

Chapter 4 Corrosion Failure Mechanisms                 29
   4.1  Corrosion Due to Moisture Ingress              30
   4.2  Loss of Hermeticity                            33
   4.3  Corrosion Due to Contaminants                  35
   4.4  Corrosion Due to Defects in Passivation        38
   4.5  Galvanic Corrosion                             39
   4.6  Crevice Corrosion                              40
   4.7  Pitting Corrosion                              41
   4.8  Surface Oxidation                              41
   4.9  Stress Corrosion                               42
   4.10 Corrosion Due to Microorganisms                43
   4.11 Corrosion Protection                           44

Chapter 5 Radiation Failure Mechanisms                 49
   5.1 Mechanical Degradation                          52
   5.2 Gamma and Neutron Heating                       55
   5.3 Insulation Degradation                          56
   5.4 Electrical Degradation and Single-Event Upset   56
   5.5 Radiation Damage Due to Alpha Particles         57
   5.6 Radiation Shielding                             59

Chapter 6 Mechanical Failure Mechanisms                61
   6.1 Failures Induced by Temperature                 61
   6.2 Failure Induced by Shock and Vibration          63
   6.3 Failure Induced by Sand and Dust                66

Chapter 7 Long-Term Non-Operating Reliability of
   Selected Electronic Products                        69
   7.1 Microelectronic Components                      69
   7.2 Millimeter Wave Components                      79
   7.3 Infrared Components                             82
   7.4 Printed Circuit Boards and Solder Joints        87
   7.5 Cables and Batteries                            88

Chapter 8 Testing and Maintenance                      89
   8.1 Testing                                         89
   8.2 Tests to Address Non-Operating Conditions       91
   8.3 Maintenance                                     92

Chapter 9 A Framework for Non-Operating Reliability
   Assessment                                          95
   9.1 Elements of the Framework                       95
   9.2 Non-Operating Reliability Simulation Example    99

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Philip Koopman: koopman@cmu.edu