Up-to-date information on a variety of techniques, methods, and approaches for evaluating and analysing electronic parts and semiconductor components is available in a company newsletter
Reliability Analysis Laboratory's (RAL) newest edition of Reliability Analysis News, a newsletter for design engineers, testing laboratories, and manufacturing organisations, is now available.
The Winter 2002 edition of Reliability Analysis News provides an overview of the RAL's most recent work in microelectronics packaging, non-linear transistor heating, voltage contrast, and electromigration.
Specific tutorials include, 'Heat: the enemy of ICs', 'Applying voltage contrast to a GaAs MMIC', and "Failures in microelectronics packaging'.
A discussion of contamination on printed circuit boards looks at the effect on push-button switches.
'Recent failure analysis findings from the lab' summarises a variety of component failures analysed by the RAL; the latest series of tests uncovered supplier problems related to poor workmanship and inadequate inspection.
Industry pundit Howard Dicken rounds out the Winter 2002 edition by providing insight into using high voltage/high current devices in his article, 'Dual reliability problems of high voltage devices'.
Reliability Analysis News is available free by visiting the Technical Library at the website (details above). Raytheon's Reliability Analysis Laboratory (RAL) provides advanced component analysis services for high tech industries such as communications, medical, automotive, electronics, and semiconductor.
Services include failure analysis, surface analysis and electron microscopy, non-destructive test, process improvements, and design consultations.
