Advances in the evaluation of the quality and reliability of integrated circuits

The evaluation and qualification of silicon integrated circuits for use in many different fields of application has advanced as manufacturing technology and reliability figures have improved. In this work, current practices in the silicon integrated circuit manufacturing industry and non-space fields of application have been analysed. In particular, because failure rates for many components are very low, measures for reliability evaluation supplementary to the testing of packaged devices were reviewed. Trends in the applied evaluation procedures which can be used as a basis for improvement of the evaluation of components for space applications have been identified. In addition, the major sources of failures in modern silicon integrated circuits and their implications for component evaluation have been analysed.