Soft failures - The invisible mode

In 2-4 years, over 60% of the semiconductor components in avionics will be sensitive to electrostatic charges of less than 100 volts. Such voltages will degrade or even destroy electrostatic discharge sensitive (ESDS) components in the course of manufacture. A proprietary program for the elimination of ESDS system problems is described whose major element is the isolation of failure causes at the site of their occurrence through testing at intermediate points of the manufacturing process. Attention is given to the roles of low humidity environments and spray coatings. All manufacturing areas have been rendered static-free by the elimination of nonmetallic surfaces. It is recommended that device switching frequency derating be undertaken wherever possible, since the effect of electrostatic degradation increases with switching speed.