Utilization of Component Part Reliability Information in Circuit Design

Component part reliability testing programs of varying scope are in progress in many areas of the electronics industry today. These programs differ in magnitude, levels of environmental and electrical stress, and types of component parts tested, but properly designed programs have one aspect in common: They can result not only in reliability evaluation, but also in reliability improvement. This paper will discuss techniques for optimizing circuit reliability by application of component characteristic data obtained from reliability testing.