ABSTRACT
The physics-of-failure process can be extremely complex and so requires the use of an expert system for its completion. Computer software has been developed by the CALCE EPRC at the University of Maryland to make physics-of-failure based design, qualification, planning, and reliability assessment manageable and timely. This chapter describes the details of this method and the characteristics of the expert systems to facilitate its use. An effective route of addressing the wearout failure is through a set of Reliability Design Rules based on physics-of-failure that ensure wearout occurs beyond the useful life of a system. The design attribute that impacts the extrinsic failure rate is then purely an expression that describes the complexity of the total design and manufacture process. Failure by infant mortality is related to both the number and severity of the defects associated with the silicon process and the failure mechanisms which are associated with these defects.
