Company
ST Home | Automotive overview | Robustness approach in product qualification

Robustness approach in product qualification

In order to reach Zero Defect target, Quality must be developed through the whole Product Qualification Flow. The Product Qualification is only the formal end in a series of steps leading to high volume production release. The final step of Product Qualification is applied to finished parts (mass production tools and mass production locations): only successful qualification results allow the delivery of the product to ST customers, for the use in their own manufacturing lines. Three main steps are:

  micro for auto
The Technology Qualification is the first milestone having effects on the final product quality. The Technology is submitted to a specific qualification procedure, to assure that all the elementary electrical components are suitable for the performances that are required inside the Integrated Circuit.
The Design Validation is the second phase having effects on the final product quality. In this phase the most modern Computer aided methods are applied to achieve the result of a product really working inside an operation range compatible with the technology, and optimizing the design related features. The most recent methodologies are applied in this phase to ensure the best Testability, Manufacturability and Reliability of the product.
The Robustness Validation is the new approach introduced into Product Qualification that is the final phase to assure that the qualified technology and the qualified design really satisfy the reliability requirements, according to the product Mission Profile, that is part of the ST customer's know-how, essential in the building-up of an effective partnership.
 
Reliability by Product Qualification
Standard reliability validation steps:
 
Mission profile evaluation
 
Parametric drift analysis after life tests
 
Destructive physical analysis on good samples after stress
 
Early degradation indicator definition for lifetime prediction
The product qualification flow (focused on intrinsic failure) is organized as follows:
The fit-to-standard flow:
 
Data collection: customer general requirements , design and manufacturing data, generic data
  Reliability evaluation plan in line with Q100 and STinternal standard
 
Stress tests matrix execution
This activity has already been running and consolidated in STsince years and is also shared with major customers.
The fit-to-use flow:
 
Data collection: design and manufacturing data, field failure analysis
 
Reliability knowledge matrix implementation to obtain the cross link between the internal and external data on the one hand and the failure mechanism on the other
 
Product robustness stress matrix to identify the suitable additional tests to be implemented in line with the application mission profile
 
Click here to view new product qualification flow for intrinsic failure
 
Related information
Key definitions
ST life tests equipments