The International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA) is the premier event for scientists and engineers who work to evaluate failures and improve the performance and reliability of semiconductor devices and processing techniques. This editorial is a look back at ISTFA over the years from the first gathering in 1975. It includes a table listing the ISTFA general chairs for each annual symposium.

The 40th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2014) was held November 8 to 14, 2014, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. “Exploring the Many Facets of Failure Analysis,” the theme of ISTFA 2014, emphasized the diverse nature of semiconductor failure analysis in the 21st century. The technical sessions, keynotes, and tutorials at ISTFA 2014 covered a wide range of topics from fault isolation and sample prep to extreme environment failures and the birth of the digital signal processor.

The 45th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2019) was held in Portland, Oregon, November 10-14, 2019. This article gives a brief summary of the highlights and identifies key contributors to the event. It also includes highlights of panel discussions from the inaugural meeting of Women in Electronics Failure Analysis (WEFA) and the panel discussion "What Does Artificial Intelligence Mean to Failure Analysis Engineers?" The article concludes with a brief recap of each of the four User Group meetings that took place during the conference: Sample Prep, System on Package, FIB/Circuit Edit, and Nanoprobing.

The 47th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2021) was held in Phoenix, Ariz., from October 31 to November 4, 2011. This article provides a summary of the keynote presentation, technical program, panel discussion, tutorials, User Group meetings, and the Women in Electronics Failure Analysis (WEFA) event.

The 44th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2018) was held in Phoenix, Ariz., October 28 - November 1, 2018. This article provides a summary of the highlights and identifies key contributors to the event. It also includes a summary of a panel discussion on the topic “Failures Worth Analyzing.” It concludes with discussion highlights from the Focused Ion Beam, Sample Preparation, and Contactless Fault Isolation/Nanoprobing user group meetings held at the conference.

This feature periodically visits significant moments in the life of ISTFA over the past three decades. This article reviews key events from past International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis events, held in 1976, 1986, and 1996.

The 36th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2010) was held in Dallas, Texas, November 14-18, 2010. This article gives a brief summary of the keynote presentation, technical program, panel discussions, tutorials, and User’s Group meetings.

The 37th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2011) was held in San Jose, Calif., November 13-17, 2011. This article provides a summary of the keynote presentation, technical program, panel discussion, tutorials, User’s Group meetings, and equipment exposition.

The 38th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2012) was held in Phoenix, Ariz., November 11-15, 2012. This article provides a summary of the keynote presentation, technical program, panel discussion, tutorials, User’s Group meetings, and equipment exposition.

The 39th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2013) was held in San Jose, Calif., November 3-7, 2012. This article provides a summary of the keynote presentation, technical program, panel discussion, tutorials, User’s Group meetings, and equipment exposition.

The 41st International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2015) was held in Portland, Ore., November 1-5, 2015. This article provides a summary of the keynote presentation, technical program, panel discussion, tutorials, User’s Group meetings, and equipment exposition.

The 42nd International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2016) was held in Fort Worth, Texas, November 6-10, 2016. This article provides a summary of the keynote presentation, technical program, panel discussion, tutorials, and User’s Group meetings.

The 43rd International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA 2017) was held in Pasadena, Calif., November 5-9, 2017. This article provides a summary of the keynote presentation, technical program, panel discussion, tutorials, and User’s Group meetings.

A brief look at the roots of ISTFA, the International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis.

This article reviews key events from past International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis events, held in 1975, 1985, and 1995.

This article provides an introduction to liquid crystal hot spot detection and its use in electronic device failure analysis. It describes how liquid crystal responds to temperature changes and the equipment typically used to observe it. It explains how to apply these materials to test specimens, how to optimize measurement sensitivity, and how to interpret the results. It also presents hot spot detection procedures and describes failure scenarios for which the method is particularly effective.

Semiconductor trends, as embodied in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), provide a guide for the challenges facing the failure analysis community. This process is a risk assessment of key features forecast for the impact of future technologies on failure analysis. The technical challenges fall primarily into two categories: failure site isolation and physical analysis. The failure site isolation challenges are largely driven by the device complexity and reduced accessibility of circuit nets. Additional challenges arise due to the increase in device operating speed and pin count. The challenges in physical analysis are driven primarily by smaller device feature sizes and by the host of new materials being introduced. In addition to the technical challenges, infrastructure changes are also likely to occur. The industry paths for addressing these challenges are discussed.

The 22nd European Symposium on Reliability of Electron Devices, Failure Physics and Analysis (ESREF 2011) was held October 3 to 7, 2011, in Bordeaux, France. The conference concentrated on two main areas in electronics that concern designers, manufacturers, and users: (1) strategy for quality and reliability assessment of electronic circuits and systems, and (2) advanced analysis techniques for technology and product evaluation. This article reports on highlights of the technical program.

This column discusses the basic knowledge and skills needed by failure analysis engineers, with a focus on problem-solving ability.

Electro optical terahertz pulse reflectometry (EOTPR) is a nondestructive fault isolation technique that is well suited for today’s ICs. This article provides examples of how EOTPR is being used to investigate 2.5D and 3D packages, wafer level fanout packages, and MEMS devices. It also discusses recent advancements in EOTPR systems and software.