ABSTRACT
The Arrhenius model seemed to be, so far, the only useful tool for the accelerated testing of semiconductor device reliability: the well-known plots rarely are missing from the papers on this subject. This chapter presents the experiment, which shows that the junction temperature characterizes insufficiently the device at a given bias and ambient temperature. A model for the stress dependence of the semiconductor device reliability, far two failure mechanisms (FM) identified, taking into account the influence of the bias conditions. The chapter discusses the implications on the design of reliability accelerated testing. Two main FM were identified: the diffusion channel between collector and emitter and field-induced junction. The diffusion cannel between collector and emitter produces a failure mode characterized by a "resistive" dependence of the collector current on the collector-emitter voltage and by the diminution of the collector-base breakdown voltage which becomes equal to the emitter-base breakdown voltage.
