Virtual qualification of a plastic encapsulated DC-DC converter

A rapid method of qualifying small, plastic encapsulated, DC-DC converters for use in high stress applications is demonstrated. This method combines limited, tailored, accelerated testing with physics-of-failure based simulation using the calcePWA board-level reliability assessment software. Both simulation and accelerated testing predicted the same failure sites, modes, and mechanisms. The simulation results were then calibrated against the accelerated testing to predict the life of the component under field load conditions.