On The Equivalence Of First- And Second-Level Reliability Test Conditions For Packages In Enhanced Temperature Regimes

This paper describes a comparative study of various stress-test conditions per automotive standard AEC Q100 grade 1 and grade 0 [1]. In addition to first-level reliability tests of High-Temperature Storage (HTS) and Temperature Cycle (TC), second-level tests such as Temperature Cycling on Board (TCoB) and Power-Cycling on Board (PCoB) were compared for leadframe and laminate packages typically used in automotive applications such as Electronic Control Units (ECUs). Electrical testing and physical inspection were used for characterization of test-chip structures. End-of-life testing was performed to obtain failure distributions and to estimate acceleration factors. In summary, this feasibility study for grade 0 stress tests is an overview of reliability issues for packages exposed to elevated temperatures, and should help to improve the reliability of future package designs.