Correlation of component human body model and charged device model qualification levels with electrical failures in electronics assembly

• ESD risks and electrical failures are not directly linked to the ESD sensitivity of ICs if the withstand voltage of the ICs is >100 V HBM and >200 V CDM.
• Facilities with a lower-ranked ESD control program had not more electrical failures than those with a higher program audit score with the same ICs.
• The same IC on a PCB can have varying electrical failure levels in different products.
• To improve EPA performance the complete process flow needs to be analyzed by identifying risks and estimating or measuring the risk probabilities.
• A majority of the found ESD events took place during the dry season with less than 45% relative humidity in EPA.

Electrostatic discharge sensitivity of integrated circuits is compared with electrical failure levels in electronics assembly. Electrical components with a low electrostatic discharge withstand voltage would be expected to have more electrical failures than more robust components. However, the analysis based on 47 products, 14 facilities, and 6 billion integrated circuits show no correlation between electrical failures and electrostatic discharge sensitivity of components. This was found when the withstand voltage of the components is equal or higher than 100 V human body model and 200 V charged device model.