The reliability of the integrated circuits in automotive industry

To obtain the reliability targets in automotive products is difficult. The environment for automotive products is comparable to military application while their cost has to compare favorably with consumer electronics. Automotive devices have to withstand wide electrical transients, strong thermal and mechanical stresses. In fact the main causes of failure are in almost perfect correlation with the above mentioned stresses. The partnership with semiconductor suppliers has the objective not only to guarantee the correct value of device parameters but also to define, at the design stage, the packaging size and all the other parameters which have a direct impact on component reliability. It is important to be able to design the set of reliability tests to be used to simulate the actual stress which the component will undergo during its life.