Physics-of-failure (PoF) methodology for electronic reliability

Physics-of-failure (PoF) for reliability is the application of knowledge of physical degradation processes in products for determining the life expectancy of a product under specified conditions. Central to this approach is the documentation of expected environmental stresses and the identification of failure modes, failure locations, and failure mechanisms that occur within the product. Physics-based models, which equate time to failure due to identified failure mechanisms, are used to quantify life expectancy and prioritize failures. PoF for reliability can be applied at all stages of a product's life cycle and can aid in improving product design, selecting appropriate qualification tests, performing accelerated testing and virtual reliability assessment, monitoring a product's health, and predicting failure. This chapter introduces the PoF-based methodology and illustrates how it can be used to design accelerated tests and provide continuous assessment of a product's health.