Robustness Validation - A physics of failure based approach to qualification

Product reliability is crucial to the success of a company. Product qualification today is based on standards that follow a stress-test driven approach, meaning pre-defined stress tests with pre-defined stress conditions. However, reliability requirements have increased, while at the same time both designs of semiconductor components and usage of these components in the applications have increasingly been pushed to the limits. This development raises the question, how far the standard procedures are still suitable for reliability assessment. Robustness Validation is an approach to a failure-mechanism-driven qualification that was primarily initiated by the automotive industry but has a much wider range of applicability. The paper will give an introduction to the basic ideas of Robustness Validation. Some limitations including statistical aspects will also be discussed.