Failure analysis

Failure analysis is the process of collecting and analyzing data to determine the cause of a failure and how to prevent it from recurring. It is an important discipline in many branches of manufacturing industry, such as the electronics industry, where it is a vital tool used in the development of new products and for the improvement of existing products. However, it also applies to other fields such as business management and military strategy.

In electronics

In electronics, failure analysis involves the following tools and techniques:

• Optical microscope
  • Liquid crystal
• Sample Preparation Equipment
• Scanning acoustic microscope (SAM)
• Scanning Acoustic Tomography (SCAT)
• Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
  • Electron beam induced current (EBIC) in SEM
  • Voltage contrast in SEM
  • Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in SEM
  • Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) in SEM
• Transmission electron microscope (TEM)
• Stereomicroscope
• Photo emission microscope (PEM)
• Transmission line pulse spectroscopy (TLPS)
• Auger electron spectroscopy
• Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS)
• X-ray microscope
• Infra-red microscope
• Jet-etcher
• Focused ion beam etching (FIB)
• Time-domain reflectometer (TDR)
• Dye penetrant inspection
• Optical beam techniques [1]:
  • Optical Beam Induced Current (OBIC)
  • Optical Beam Induced Resistance Change (OBIRCH)
  • Optical Beam Heat Induced Current (OBHIC)

See also

• Common acronyms in microscopy
• Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)
• Failure rate
• Material science
• Sample Preparation Equipment

Bibliography

• Martin, Perry L., Electronic Failure Analysis Handbook, McGraw-Hill Professional; 1st edition (February 28, 1999) ISBN 0-07-041044-5.

• Article from MATERIALS WORLD Journal discussing the various sample preparation disciplines that allow for failure anlaysis of electronic materials and components

• Article discussing Liquid Crystal Hot-spot detection techniques