RELIABILITY TESTING OF SEMICONDUCTOR-DEVICES IN A HUMID ENVIRONMENT

The influence of the humidity on semiconductor device reliability is investigated, with two main purposes: i) to emphasize the role of the humidity in the failure process as a stress factor and ii) to model the reliability - humidity relationship. Experiments were performed on two types of plastic encapsulated semiconductor devices (optoelectronic and ICs). Reliability data obtained from functioning at humidity and temperature are compared with those obtained from functioning at the same temperatures but at lower humidity level. The role of the humidity as a stress factor is made obvious by identifying the specific failure mechanisms induced. The experimental data are used also for the validation of an original model, a generalized Arrhenius relation. The model allows the design of accelerated tests with humidity as one of the stress factors. A comparison of the model with previous models is given.