Probabilistic Design-for-Reliability Concept Changes the State-of-the-Art in Microelectronics and Photonics Engineering
E Suhir*
Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ (ret), Portland State University, Portland, OR, and ERS Co., Los Altos, CA, USA
*Corresponding Author: E Suhir, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ (ret), Portland State University, Portland, OR, and ERS Co., Los Altos, CA, USA.
Published: February 02, 2024
Abstract
The application of the recently suggested probabilistic design for reliability (PDfR) concept [1-5], an important extension of the design-for-reliability (DfR) effort (see, e.g., [6]), enables improving the state-of-the-art in electronics and photonics reliability engineering by establishing and assuring the adequate reliability level in many critical reliability tasks in these areas engineering. This is particularly important in various human-in-the-loop (HITL) [7-9] situations, when the reliability of the equipment/instrumentation, both its hard- and software, and human(s) performance contribute jointly to the outcome of a critical mission or an extraordinary situation. The PDfR concept provides a way to predict the, in effect, never-zero probability of the field failure of the product of importance by putting the reliability predictions and assurances on a well substantiated quantified "reliable" basis. The concept does that mostly on the basis of the highly focused and highly cost effective failure-oriented-accelerated-testing (FOAT) [10-14] conducted on the design stage of a new technology, new design, or a new application of the existing technology or design, when the highly popular today highly-accelerated-life-testing (HALT) [15] does not yet exist for this product and technology, and suitable best practices have not been developed. Note that there are also two other FOAT types: those that are almost always conducted at the post-manufacturing stage and known as burn-in tests (BITs) [16-18] and those that are quite often conducted on the product development stage, such as, e.g., shear-off and temperature cycling tests.
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