Reliability of Devices

This paper reports the results of a molecular-level investigation of the effects of flame retardant additives on the thermal dedompositlon of thermoset molding compounds used for encapsulation of IC devices, and their implications to the reliability of devices in molded plastic packages. In particular, semiconductor grade novolac epoxy and silicone-epoxy based resins and an electrical grade novolac epoxy formulation are compared. This work is an extension of a previous study of an epoxy encapsulant to flame retarded and non-flame retarded sample pairs of novolac epoxy and silicone-epoxy compounds. The results of this work are correlated with separate studies on device aglng2>3, where appropriate. 

Surface roughness is an important factor in the performance and reliability of devices having microscopic dimensions [136]. It can essentially affect all aspects of silicon technology [168, 169]. To guarantee the performance of electronic devices the microstructures fabricated from silicon are required to be smooth, with roughness much smaller than the dimensions of the structure components [127]. As the device dimension gets smaller the device will be composed of thinner oxides and shallower junctions and the effect of surface roughness will become critical. 

It should be noted that in using MIL-HBK-217, the rehability predictions are based on empirical data for different component types and do not necessarily take into account the rehabihty of adhesive attached and interconnected components. The effect of the adhesive and its various possible failure modes and mechanisms on the reliability of devices under both operating conditions and long-term accelerated conditions should be considered a part of the equation. 

In developing the procedure of testing the features of NDT technological process must be taken into account, particularly, availability of the object for testing, strict characteristics of NDT devices being used and other factors which influence on the accuracy and reliability of measurements. 

Backup systems which depend upon the action of automatic cut-in devices (e.g., a turbine-driven standby spare for a motor-driven cooling water pump, with PLCI control) would not be considered an acceptable means of preventing a utility failure for normal pressure relief design purposes, even though their installation is fully justified by improved continuity and reliability of plant operations. 

Integrating individual chemical process steps used in the manufacture of electronic, photonic, and recording materials and devices. This is a key to boosting the yield, throughput, and reliability of overall manufacturing processes. 

On the way to more reliability in device fabrication, Kronholz et al. reported on the reproducible fabrication of protected metal nanoelectrodes on silicon chips with <30nm gap width and their electrochemical characterization [33]. For the fabrication of the chips, an optical lithography step and two electron-beam steps are combined (Figure 18). 

Another major challenge for implantable pH sensors is the biological response of living systems toward sensors when making contact with blood or tissue [134], The experiments often showed a progressive loss of function and lack of reliability of the implanted sensors. This lack of reliability and progressive loss of function, common to all implantable sensors, is believed to be caused by tissue or blood reactions such as inflammatory response, fibrosis, and loss of vasculature and thrombus formation [135, 136], The delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs to the sensor site can minimize tissue reactions and extend the lifetime of the device [50, 137],... 

A very important issue related to the performance of the whole wind-hydrogen system is the quality of its electrical equipment. There is a strong dependence on the reliability of the power electronics used for the AC/DC conversion as well as for the sensitivity of the fault detection devices that often result in a lower overall efficiency rate. 

Far instrumentation purposes, there are clear advantages in placing at least some of the electronic circuitry close to the sensor (see Section 15.1) in order to reduce pick-up noise. However, there may also be inherent advantages in operating transistors at low temperatures, such as increased switching speed or lower noise. A serious problem is the effect on device reliability of the stresses induced by thermal cycling. 

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