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Delta-P -Getter Sorption Testing Technical Note
This tech note discusses two methods of getter sorption testing. The first method is used to measure the sorption capacity and rate of a hydrogen getter. Please note that while it is not applicable to all types of hydrogen getters, it is useable for many of the hydrogen getters in common use like metal oxides.
Why be concerned about moisture?
Moisture-related failures of microelectronic components have occurred across the microelectronics industry for many years. As early as the mid-1950s, Crawford and Weigand showed that water vapor was the greatest contamination problem in standard relays, causing corrosion of contact materials.
Analyzing the Contamination in Electronic Packages: Internal Vapor Analysis (80kb)
Internal Vapor Analysis is a complete quantitative analysis of the ambient gases contained within the hermetic cavity of microelectronic devices. The ORS IVA® test is performed in accordance with ORS SOP MEL-1053 (an enhanced method from Mil-Std-883, Method 1018, Procedure 1, “Internal Water Vapor Content”), for hermetic cavity from 0.01cc and up…
Comparison of INO internal micro-Pirani measurement and ORS’ HR-IVA gas analysis total pressure measurement (493kb)
Influence of ceramic package internal components on the performance of vacuum sealed uncooled bolometric detectors…
Counterfeit Electronic Components (80kb)
These are just a few examples of the worldwide proliferation of counterfeit electronic components. From five to twenty percent of electronic components in distributors’ supply chains are probably counterfeit. Counterfeits cost industry up to $100B per year…
The Effects of Hydrogen On Device Reliability (452kb)
The potentially detrimental effects of outgassed hydrogen on device reliability have been substantiated in the trade press over the past several years. Non-specific to silicon or gallium arsenide technology, it’s negative impact is universal and can range from hydride formation with ensuing material deformation to oxide reduction followed by moisture related failure mechanisms…
Failure Analysis of a Hybrid Device Exhibiting Copper Dendrite Growth on Thick Film Resistors (7.25mb)
The analysis was initiated because of electrical testing failures – a voltage divider exhibited an out-of-specification value during burn-in at elevated temperature. This voltage divider compared the outputs of two thick film resistors.
Failure Analysis of Die Bond Adhesion Failures Caused by Silicone Contamination (5.94mb)
This paper presents a case history of a failure analysis performed on die bond adhesion failures. Silicone contamination caused intermittent adhesive failures at the die back metallization/conductive epoxy interface…
Gas Compositions In Sealed Medical Device Enclosures (118kb)
There is a growing use of hermetic packages in the medical device industry, particularly for implantable devices. At the same time there is a growing number of high profile failures occurring in the industry.
Harsh Environments and Volatiles in Sealed Enclosures (587kb)
Functionality of many types of microelectronic, optoelectronic, medical, and micro and nanomachine devices depends on protection afforded by a hermetically sealed enclosure.
Hermetic Package Leak Testing Re-visited (766kb)
The two main reasons to seal devices hermetically, thereby preventing hermetic enclosure ambient compromise (HEAC), are: (1) operating characteristics that require protection from condensed, adsorbed, or gaseous water that can cause corrosion, electrical leakage, fogging, stiction, or related fail modes, and (2) to maintain reduced-pressure ambients during the product’s expected storage and operating lifetime.
Interpretation of RGA Data or RGA Testing (164kb)
Residual Gas Analysis of hermetic microelectronic devices has traditionally been treated as a means for measuring a device’s internal moisture content only. Too many times, the moisture reading is treated on a pass/fail basis using the MIL-STD criteria that all devices must contain less than 5000 parts per million by volume (ppmv) of moisture. In reality, the other gases routinely reported with the moisture contain a wealth of information that can be used to significantly improve product quality and reliability…
IVA Test Sequence (74kb)
The most widely accepted method for evaluating internal gas content is Internal Vapor Analysis (IVA®) via mass spectrometry. The mass spectrometric method for IVA involves the ionization and separation of gas molecules as they flow from the package cavity…
Material Outgassing Characterization (52kb)
The Material Outgassing Characterization test developed at ORS is a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the gaseous substances desorbed from a material after thermal stress. The analysis measures the relative volumetric concentrations of volatile…
Measuring mass flows in hermetically sealed MEMs & MOEMs to ensure device reliability (2.7mb)
Many MEMs and MOEMs devices require controlled ambient environments for successful operation. Controlled ambients are usually obtained via hermetic packaging. These controlled environments must first be obtained and then maintained to prevent their degradation over the device lifetime. Controlled ambients decay in quality over time due to various mechanisms including leaks, permeation,…
Metal Migration Failures in a Hybrid Device: Interaction of Package Materials, Process Residuals, and Ambient Gases (4.82mb)
This paper presents the case history of a failure analysis performed on hybrid devices that exhibited electrical failures during thermal cycle with bias. Electrical testing revealed resistive shorts between Vcc and ground bond pads on integrated circuits within the package…
Moisture Ingress and Absorption in a CCD Package (184kb)
Moisture ingress in electronic packages can lead to catastrophic failures due to electromigration and corrosion. For space application, epoxy sealed CCDs are often used, and the risk due to moisture ingress during test and storage rarely assessed…
Moisture Analysis: History, Sampling and Case Study (156kb)
Mass Spectrometry analysis of electronic components is more than Internal Water Vapor test as the titles of the Military Standards 883 and 750 might imply. The test provides a quantitative measurement of all gasses inside a device, and should be used as such.
ORS Commercial Practice for IVA® (440kb)
The purpose of this test method is to quantitatively measure the relative concentration of the internal vapor content, including water vapor, in gas filled hermetically sealed devices using a mass spectrometry technique….
Outgassing Species in Optoelectronic Packages (32kb)
The microelectronics community has been plagued with the problem of moisture formation and outgassing of various fixed and organic gaseous species into the device cavity. It is now very apparent that the optoelectronic packaging community is having the same problems only made more complex by the use of inadequate test methods, unproven materials and misconceptions in the supply and user industries. A test protocol is provided that addresses these issues, which allows the optoelectronic community to improve device quality and reliability…
Package Hermeticity and Gas Analysis (4.89mb)
Failure mechanisms identified in microelectronic devices are, to a large degree, triggered by excessive moisture in the package cavity. Results vary from a subtle electrical leakage to severe corrosion and electrical failure. Although this internal water vapor may be sealed in the package during processing or may be generated internally after seal from material outgassing or decomposition,…
Single Sample Cylinder for RGA Correlation (114kb)
A large portion the manufacturers of high reliability microelectronic devices must have those devices tested using RGA analysis to be proven “dry”. A mass spectrographic technique, referred to as Residual Gas Analysis (RGA) has been the primary means of demonstrating that the devices contain less than the 5000 parts per million(ppm) of moisture.
SPECTRACAM™ – Random Access Charge Injection Device Cameras for Spectroscopy (104kb)
We designed, built, and tested the SpectraCAM84/86, a family of scientific Random Access Charge Injection Device (RACID) cameras for analytical spectroscopy and quantitative imaging. The cameras feature the RACID84/86 imagers, which are CMOS CID image sensors with true random pixel selection, integration, and readout. We developed CMOS CID technology in order to integrate high transparency RACID pixel arrays with CMOS on-chip camera circuitry. Pixels are 27-micron x 27-micron square.
Role of IVA® to determine composition of outgassing species to study aging of quartz crystal resonators (271kb)
The power of IVA® is effectively used to characterize outgassing species from quartz crystal resonators at two different temperatures (85°C and 150°C). The resonators are built using two different mounting points. The paper concludes that a two-point mounted resonator has a compositive aging curve as evident by balanced effects of stress and outgassing characterized by IVA® capability.
