Zero defect mission requires an arsenal

Abstract

Saying "no" to managers and automotive customers asking for zero defects is virtually the same as saying no to the ~$ 16b opportunity that the automotive semiconductor industry represents. The size and relative stability of the automotive market makes it highly attractive to semiconductor suppliers willing to meet tough requirements that include technology to support the operating environment, cost pressures, and quality requirements. The quality expectations originate from consumers. In order for vehicle manufacturers to meet 'consumer tolerable' dpm failure rates, the individual semiconductor components must not exceed single digit dpm performance. Vehicle electrical modules having 150-200 components are expected to perform below 10dpm. Therefore, each component must have a failure rate that is Lt dpm to achieve this - regardless if one component has 15million transistors! Suppliers not willing or capable of meeting zero defect requirements provide more opportunity for other suppliers to participate in this highly attractive market. In order to compete in zero defect markets, a combination of design, manufacturing, and test strategies combine together to form a zero defect arsenal. As technologies and devices become more complex, design, test and manufacturing methodologies must constantly improve. This paper briefly reviews many of the methodologies required to achieve zero defects for embedded microcontrollers.