My first reaction was not so much ESD, although that may have been the seed which initiated the sequence. Looked more like a thermal runaway induced electrical overstress type of situation. Difficult to tell without additional detail/pics. Third and fourth pictures look more like a form of 'sweeping' mechanical damage (sweeping from right to left damaging the passivation layer (and metal) over the gate(?) electrode in the center). The remaining photos appear to have significant foreign material involved, as well as the normal residues from semi-spontaneous electrical-plasma-induced decomposition of the circuit. These were obviously 'tested' to detect failure. The test system IS switching correctly, I assume IMHO Steve Creswick Gentex Corp -----Original Message----- From: Stephen R. Gregory [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2001 9:05 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] UGLY PHOTOS AND FAILURE ANALYSIS OPINIONS NEEDED Hey Moonman! 'Kay, all the pictures are up!! Go to: http://stevezeva.homestead.com/index.html I think I was a little off when I said 15-minutes...I forget that I don't have a T1 line at home like I do at work! 56k modems aren't quite as fast as a T1...plus you don't get bumped off Ti's like you do on AOL dial-ups...hehehe. But they're there now, all the pictures are labeled ESD/EOS damage...GREAT pictures Earl!! Wish I knew enough about this stuff to offer some input...it'll be a real learning experience to hear from those that do!!! -Steve Gregory- << Folks, In this message, I ask Steve to tell me his requirements for posting pictures to his site. The photos show component failure at my new contract company. Of primary concern is ESD/EOS failure. Also of concern is excessive thermal excursions and the inability, possibly to get the heat out. Some reasons for this conclusion involve coplanarity issues not allowing intimate contact with the heat sink and the company's requirement of not filling the void with thermal goop. Too messey they say. My humble conclusion is the part is too ESD/EOS sensitive for the commercial assembly operation hired to do the job. Contributing to the many failures is the the thermal issue. I appreciate any input from you component failure analysis folks. If you've seen anything like this before, please let me know. For now, this issue is secret with respect to the supplier (guess who as a GaAs amplifier supplier) and the customer for it (my employee). Their customer is one of the folks involved with, what else, broadband communications. The photos will be presented on Steve's site with his permission and procedures. This might not happen until tomorrow, depending on available time and resources. Thanks, MoonMan >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------