The EMLC’s Failure Analysis class is a three day course tailored specifically to address the most prevalent electronics manufacturing and packaging issues. The course objective is to prepare participants to make informed decisions when performing reliability testing, failure analysis, and quality control functions. The class is also designed to help students troubleshoot manufacturing problems. Quality control engineers and managers and manufacturing engineers and technicians who either perform failure analysis or collaborate with analytical labs gain knowledge that can be used to improve their product or manufacturing process. The class provides an excellent learning experience that relates directly to the students’ needs and levels of experience.
The course is based on IPC, ANSI, ASM, and ASTM test methods and specifications. ACI’s own experiences as a failure analysis lab, center of learning, and manufacturing facility help to supplement the material presented. Incorporated in the curriculum are the operation of the instruments and techniques used to troubleshoot failures as well as the identification of common failure modes.
Day one of the course is dedicated to understanding failure analysis methodology. Failure analysis is performed to determine the root cause of a failure. The root cause is important to know so that the appropriate corrective actions can be taken to prevent a problem from recurring. Students are introduced to the detective mentality needed to perform successful failure investigations. The class participants are exposed to the key factors in performing a rapid and thorough examination.
Several analytical techniques are also introduced on day one. The students gain a complete understanding of the most useful analytical methods so that they can determine the most appropriate technique to apply to the problem. Case studies and laboratory exercises are included in the instruction so that participants become familiar with the capabilities, limitations, and operations of equipment. The analytical techniques discussed include but are not limited to:
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
- Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS)
- Spectroscopy (FTIR and UV-Vis)
- X-ray Flouresence (XRF)
- Microsectioning
- Optical Microscopy
- Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
- Wetting Balance
- Delidding and decapsulation
- Cleanliness Testing
Day two is committed to understanding many of the failure modes associated with the circuit board substrate and advanced component packaging. Substrate defects found in FR-4, FR-5, BT, Polyamide, Thermount, Teflon based and flexible substrates are all included in the curriculum. Surface finishes are also sources of failures in circuit cards. The surface finish can be responsible for solderability problems, solder joint fractures, and failures within the substrate. An advanced component packaging failures module is also taught. The module includes analyses of Ball Grid Arrays (BGA), Multi-Chip Modules (MCM), Chip Scale Packages (CSP), Flip Chips, and Chip on Board (COB) packages.
The remainder of day two is dedicated to understanding reliability testing and analysis. The reliability testing modules are based upon IPC-SM- 785 and IPC-9701 specifications and provides guidelines for performing accelerated testing of circuit assemblies. The module also introduces students to reliability modeling. Common failure modes of solder and solder interconnects are included in this portion of the curriculum. This is the module in which solder joint fatigue, coefficient of thermal expansion issues, and mechanical stresses are discussed in depth.
Day three details the defects associated with common components and component packaging. Students are instructed on how to identify the type of component failure (overvoltage, overcurrent, corrosion, thermal damage, etc). Also included in the day three curriculum is a lecture and laboratory for component failure analysis. Students are exposed to electrical test verification, decapsulation and delidding, optical inspection of the die surface, and SEM imaging of key areas within the component. At the completion of this module, students will be able to identify failure caused by electrostatic discharge (ESD) and electrical over stress (EOS) in addition to other common causes of failures.
Both the novice and experienced can benefit from a failure analysis course, even those who do not deal with failure analysis directly. Failure analysis engineers learn industry adopted techniques and methods for determining the cause and remedy for a number of electronics manufacturing related issues. Case studies provide the forum for problem formulation, investigation, and resolution. These case studies exemplify typical and atypical issues that encourage independent thinking as well as group discussion. As with many of the other courses offered at the EMPF Learning Center (EMLC), students are trained with a combination written material and practical experience.
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