Failure Analysis
Failure Analysis is a critical process for determining the root cause of performance degradation or catastrophic failure in electronic components. It ensures quality and reliability at every stage of the component lifecycle: manufacturing, inspection, or final application.
We bring decades of expertise in evaluating, screening, validating, and testing EEE (Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical) components. Our deep understanding of component behavior, failure modes, and root causes enables us to deliver precise and actionable solutions. Through our comprehensive verification and testing services, we pinpoint the origin of failure mechanisms, helping you enhance reliability, optimize performance, and mitigate future risks.
Failure analysis across the semiconductor product lifecycle
For acquired, stored or already deployed components, failure analysis investigates performance degradation, intermittent behaviour and catastrophic failures. This application forms part of ALTER’s Product Enhancement activities, helping assess component quality, compare lots or suppliers and determine whether the failure is related to the component itself or to its operating environment. The investigation may be supported by constructional analysis and counterfeit detection.
Why is Failure Analysis important?
To pinpoint the root cause of a failure, gathering detailed information is essential, including:
- Component history: How it was procured, stored, and handled.
- Operating conditions: Circuit location, applied bias, usage duration, and environmental factors.
- Failure mode: Visible damage, degraded performance, or complete failure.
Armed with this data, we create a systematic test sequence involving destructive and non-destructive methods. This step-by-step approach narrows down potential causes, from external appearances to internal construction and reverse engineering of the component.
RF filter failure detected during the internal visual inspection which is a part of the cross sectioning process.
Preserving evidence and defining the analysis sequence
The analysis normally progresses from non-destructive to destructive techniques so that evidence is preserved for as long as possible. Initial evaluation may combine electrical testing with C-SAM inspection and other non-destructive methods. If physical confirmation is required, the investigation can continue with Destructive Physical Analysis, decapsulation, microsectioning, SEM or FIB inspection.
A comparison of techniques used to inspect internal anomalies while preserving the component is available in the doEEEt guide to non-destructive test methods for EEE components.
Benefits of Failure Analysis
This process adds value across multiple levels:
- For component manufacturers
Detect issues with materials, handling, manufacturing processes, and testing. Implement solutions to improve product quality and production yield. - For component users
Understand failure origins and apply targeted risk mitigation techniques to prevent recurrence. - At the equipment level
Identify issues stemming from improper component selection, inadequate derating rules, or external electrical stresses.
Common solutions include:
- Switching suppliers or component types.
- Replacing defective lots.
- Re-screening/testing to isolate weak units.
Example of a Failure Analysis workflow
- External visual inspection: Evaluate package and seal conditions.
- Electrical test verification: Characterize electrical behavior using specialized equipment like curve tracers.
- Material and metallurgical analysis: Employ techniques such as SEM and FTIR spectroscopy.
- Mechanical and solderability testing: Identify structural issues and soldering defects.
- Advanced inspections: Utilize acoustic microscopy, real-time X-ray, leak tests, and particle detection (P.I.N.D.).
- Decapsulation and internal analysis: Perform detailed optical inspections to locate internal defects.
These methods uncover issues such as latent defects, wear-out failures, mishandling, storage errors, and radiation damage.
Sample showing a broken wire at the bonding pad
From root cause to corrective action
A complete failure analysis should connect the observed defect with the physical failure mechanism and the conditions that produced it. This distinction helps determine whether corrective action should focus on component selection, supplier or lot control, package design, assembly parameters, handling, storage, screening or operating conditions.
The findings can support containment of affected units, definition of additional inspections, modification of screening or qualification flows and prevention of recurrence in future production or procurement. A practical example of combining different analytical techniques to identify failure mechanisms is available in the doEEEt study on failure analysis of capacitors and inductors.
The final failure analysis report consolidates the component history, methods applied, observations and supporting evidence, together with the identified failure mechanism and root-cause conclusion. When applicable, it also includes recommendations for containment, additional testing or corrective actions to reduce the risk of recurrence.