Reliability Aspects of Plastic Encapsulated Integrated Circuits

The introduction of plastic encapsulated integrated circuits was one of the most significant changes in the semiconductor industry since the development of the integrated circuit itself. While the plastic encapsulation made available low cost-high volume integrated circuits for the industrial and consumer markets, it also introduced a wide range of potential reliability problems. Some of these reliability limitations were recognized and solved early in the development of plastic I/C´s while others were of a more subtle nature and took longer to detect and correct. This paper considers the failure modes of plastic encapsulated integrated circuits; the stress tests utilized to detect their presence; the design and process improvements made to eliminate them and presents the results of extensive reliability tests conducted to assess their current reliability status.