What are the contents of reliability testing for chips?

Date：2024-01-22 15:08:00Views：64

Reliability testing is crucial for the manufacturing and design process of chips. By conducting comprehensive and rigorous reliability testing, potential design defects, manufacturing issues, or environmental sensitivities can be identified and resolved in advance, ensuring the performance and reliability of chips in long-term use. This article has collected and organized some materials, hoping to have significant reference value for readers.

This test aims to verify the stability, reliability, and durability of the chip under different environmental conditions, to ensure its ability to operate stably for a long time. Reliability testing includes various testing items, such as temperature testing, voltage testing, functional testing, and reliability durability testing.

Types of chip reliability testing:

1. Temperature cycling test:

The purpose of chip temperature cycling testing is to evaluate the performance and reliability of chips under different temperature conditions, in order to simulate temperature changes in actual usage environments. This test aims to verify whether the chip can function properly under temperature changes, as well as whether it can maintain stability and reliability. Temperature cycling testing typically covers the operating temperature range required for a chip, including room temperature, extreme high temperature, and low temperature. The specific temperature range is determined based on the design requirements and application scenarios of the chip. Multiple temperature cycles will be conducted during the test, one of which includes a period of high temperature exposure and a period of low temperature exposure. The number of cycles can be determined based on the design lifespan requirements of the chip.

During the high-temperature cycle, the chip is exposed to a high-temperature environment, which may be achieved through a hot plate or hot box. Testing in high-temperature environments can reveal the performance characteristics of chips under high-temperature conditions, such as power consumption changes, clock frequency stability, signal integrity, etc. This helps to verify the reliability of the chip in high-temperature environments and identify potential thermal issues.

During the low-temperature cycle, the chip is exposed to a low-temperature environment. Low temperature testing can reveal the working ability of chips under low temperature conditions, such as cold start performance, low temperature power consumption, and clock stability. In addition, low-temperature testing can also test the reliability of chip materials and packaging to ensure their durability in extreme low-temperature environments.

2. High temperature storage test:

High temperature environments may cause the following issues:

Power consumption change: Long term high-temperature storage may cause an increase in leakage current in the internal circuits of the chip, thereby increasing power consumption.

Parameter drift: The electrical characteristic parameters inside the chip may drift with temperature changes, resulting in reduced performance.

Reliability issues: High temperature storage may cause aging and degradation of internal materials in chips, which may lead to reliability issues such as circuit breaks, electron migration, etc.

The principle of high-temperature storage testing is to simulate the high-temperature environment that a chip may face during long-term storage, in order to evaluate the performance and reliability of the chip under these conditions. This type of testing helps identify potential reliability issues, predict potential issues that chips may encounter in practical use, and take necessary measures to improve chip design, material selection, or packaging technology.

3. Drop test:

The main purposes of chip drop testing include:

Evaluate the mechanical strength and reliability of chips under drop or impact conditions. Check the reliability of chip packaging materials and soldering. Verify the stability of the internal structure and connections of the chip to prevent loosening or detachment of internal components. Evaluate the performance damage of chips when subjected to physical impacts in actual use.

By conducting drop tests, determine whether it can withstand drops or impacts in actual use and maintain normal functionality and structural integrity. This type of testing helps identify potential mechanical weaknesses, packaging issues, or connection failures.

4. Accelerated stress testing (uhast):

The uHAST test of a chip accelerates its aging and failure modes in a short period of time by applying extreme voltage and temperature conditions. The specific uHAST testing conditions, including high temperature, high humidity, pressure, and bias values, are some common reference values for uHAST testing conditions:

High temperature: usually conducted within a temperature range of approximately 100 ° C to 150 ° C, depending on the design requirements and application environment of the chip. Sometimes, higher temperatures may also be used for testing in special circumstances.

High humidity: In general uHAST testing, the relative humidity is usually maintained between 85% and 95%. High humidity conditions can exacerbate the aging and corrosion of chips.

Pressure: The pressure applied during testing can be achieved through the testing device or packaging environment. The specific value of pressure is usually between 2 atmospheres (atm) and 20 atmospheres, depending on the testing requirements and the application scenario of the chip.

Bias voltage: Bias voltage usually refers to the voltage applied to chip pins or devices. The specific bias value depends on the design and application requirements of the chip. In uHAST testing, bias can be used to accelerate the generation of fault modes, such as leakage current, breakdown, etc.

The above are just a few common reliability testing methods. Other tests include electromagnetic interference testing, voltage fluctuation testing, electrical characteristic testing, and long-term operation testing, which will not be discussed in detail in this article. If you find the content helpful, please follow Chuangxin Testing. We will provide you with more industry information!