Failure Analysis of Electronic Parts

The author has been involved with the technical aspects of failure analysis for the past three years. This paper presents a number of typical autopsy analyses which illustrate the techniques which have evolved and examples of electronic part failure causes. The experiences lead to the conclusion that most part failures are the results of defects in design and construction or are the products of human errors in testing. Reliability improvements may be achieved by recognizing these failure causes and adapting appropriate corrective action.