Failures of interest in this article usually occur on single-sided, non-plated-through-hole circuit boards. Evidence of failure may be as subtle as crazing (a pattern of small surface cracks) of solder-joint surfaces or as catastrophic as burning of the circuit board. Over time, crazing coalesces into circumferential cracks in the solder joint, and these cracks deepen until catastrophic failure occurs.

There is a little known failure mechanism that affects dc coils, particularly those used in low-side-switched circuits. This mechanism involves electrolytic transport of copper from the winding in conjunction with chemical corrosion. For this phenomenon to occur, several conditions must exist simultaneously. This article discusses the conditions under which such failures occur and explains how to minimize their effects if not prevent them.

This article presents three failure analysis case histories involving the use of silver in electrical applications. The first two failures, that of a relay and a trimming potentiometer, highlight the incompatibilities of silver and sulfur. The third failure, in which several surface-mount resistors had shorted, is attributed to silver’s susceptibility to electrolytic migration.

This article discusses the challenges involved in testing analog and mixed-signal ICs and provides practical guidance and insights on how to deal with them.

This article discusses the causes and effects of parasitic ringing in the gate drive circuit of dc-to-dc converters. It also presents experimental results validating a possible solution.

This article explores the failure of a DC/DC converter without start-up overshoot and provides solutions to a problem that is relevant to space electronic systems.

This article addresses the issue of capacitor failures, explaining how and why they occur and how to determine the cause. It describes the frequent but often overlooked reliability failure mechanisms of ceramic, foil, and electrolytic capacitors.

This article discusses the primary differences between electrostatic discharge (ESD) and electrical overstress (EOS) and the circumstances under which they occur. It also explains how to differentiate ESD from EOS during failure analysis and how to avoid common misunderstandings and mistakes.

This article reviews recent developments in the area of molecular-scale computing. It describes the construction and operating characteristics of molecular wires, rectifiers, switches, and transistors. It also discusses the concept of molecular gain. Molecular computing architectures based on crosspoint arrays, randomized nanocells, and cellular automata will be discussed in Part II of this article in the November 2004 issue of EDFA .

Tin whiskers are single-crystal filaments that can grow from tin-plated copper or nickel components. This article discusses the effect of plating thickness, composition, and grain size on tin whisker formation and explains how to assess damage potential based on microanalysis, whisker length distribution models, and metal vapor arc risk factors. The authors also present and analyze several examples of failures caused by tin whisker formation in space systems.

Automotive electronics are exposed to mechanical shock and vibration, thermal cycling, chemical attack, current and voltage spikes, electromagnetic interference, and other hazards. Early life failures, which are not uncommon, can be difficult to diagnose due to the many contributing factors. This article provides an overview of automotive electronic failures and presents guidelines for determining the root cause.

This article provides a systematic overview of knowledge-based and machine-learning AI methods and their potential for use in automated testing, defect identification, fault prediction, root cause analysis, and equipment scheduling. It also discusses the role of decision-making rules, image annotations, and ontologies in automated workflows, data sharing, and interoperability.