The effect of temperature on the reliability of electronic components

Abstract

Reliability of electronic systems for operating in all types of environments has become a necessity. The progressive miniaturization in electronics, packaging of a large number of active devices per unit area of the component due to higher integration levels, higher power density per unit area, need for low- cost and reliable products, and the wide range of applications in specialized commercial, avionics, underground oil exploration, automotive, and other high temperature environments besides the normal commercial applications demands a high degree of reliable operation of the electronics under harsh environmental conditions. In such situations, reliability has to be built into the system by design, choice of suitable components, packaging and cooling techniques. This paper discusses the effect of temperature on the reliability of components used in typical electronic systems. Various models based on the temperature principle are discussed with illustrative examples for reliability calculations.Further, it is shown that by using the principle of cause - effect relationship, suitable methods can be applied to minimize failures of electronic components due to thermal stresses.