General Failure Mechanisms Of Microsystems

In this chapter, general failure mechanisms of microsystems are presented. First, the definition of failure is shortly discussed, followed by revealing of some of the most common failure mechanisms related to electronic components and their interconnections. Also the influences of the failure modes are shortly discussed as well as the failure preventive actions.The failure modes are categorized in certain subclasses based on their physical behavior and the nature of the initial stress conditions. For instance, a rapid failure caused by overstress environment can be separated from the failure mechanisms that initiate and evolve slowly in wearout conditions. To prevent or at least delay the failures to occur, one should be aware of the basic failure mechanisms involved to electronics assemblies, or more precisely to electronics microsystems.