Power-Law Reliability Plotting for Microelectronics

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Reliability Engineering

Background:

• Current microelectronics reliability analysis often uses power-law time plotting.
• This method assumes degradation follows a power-law, extrapolating time-to-fail based on initial parameter values (S0).
• Inaccurate S0 values can lead to significantly exaggerated or underestimated lifetime predictions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reexamine and improve power-law time plotting for reliability prediction.
• To develop a more accurate method for extrapolating time-to-fail in microelectronics.
• To address the limitations of current methods that rely heavily on precise initial indicator values.

Main Methods:

• Transforming the x-axis to time raised to the power of 1/m.
• Determining the exponent 'm' by setting the second-order term of a polynomial fit to zero.
• Utilizing a linear fit to a second-order polynomial to find the correct time power.

Main Results:

• The proposed transformation yields more accurate reliability predictions.
• Achieved realistic time-to-fail estimations under accelerated testing conditions.
• Demonstrated an empirical method for data plotting independent of specific physical models.

Conclusions:

• The revised plotting principles offer a more robust approach to microelectronics reliability analysis.
• Accurate power-law exponent determination is crucial for reliable lifetime predictions.
• This empirical method enhances the predictability of component lifespan based on degradation data.