System Failure Analysis Process and Case Study

Failure analysis at the system level requires a well-defined process and methodology in order to drive quality improvements onto motherboards or other subsystems of a personal computer. This process needs to be structured around the type of failure mechanisms that an FA group desires to understand. This paper discusses a specific case study involving electrical overstress in a personal computer that impacted the motherboard of the system. The case study resulted in a solution to increase quality on motherboards in the context of electrical overstress prevention.