Purging: A reliability assurance technique for new technology semiconductor devices

A new reliability assurance philosophy is described that represents the Bell System approach to solving the difficult problem of providing new device technology for early system deployment with well characterized and desirable reliability characteristics. This philosophy is especially important for high reliability systems such as satellites and submarine cables. It is based on the use of very high stresses, both thermal and nonthermal, to eliminate failure modes which are only weakly temperature activated, and to stabilize degradation rates. The technique is called "purging."