Page 1
Reliability Qualification Report
SGA-9189
Products Qualified by Similarity
SGA-9289
March, 2001
522 Almanor Ave., Sunnyvale, Ca 94086 Phone: (800) SMI-MMIC http://www.stanfordmicro.com
Page 2
SGA-9189 Reliability Qualification Report
Introduction
Stanford Microdevices’ SGA-9189 is a high performance amplifier designed for operation
from DC to 3500 MHz. With optimal matching at 2 GHz, TOI = 39 dBmand P1dB=26
dBm. This RF device uses the latest Silicon Germanium Heterostructure Bipolar
Transistor (SiGe HBT) process. The process has a V
SGA-9189 is cost-effective for applications requiring high linearity, even at moderate
biasing levels.
Fabrication Technology
These amplifiers are manufactured using a Silicon Germanium Heterojunction Bipolar
Transistor (HBT) technology. This patented self -aligned emitter, double poly HBT
process has been in production by our foundry since 1998. The process has been
successfully used for a wide range of RFIC products including GSM PAs, DECT front
end transceivers, LNAs & VCOs. This process offers comparable performance to GaAs
HBTs with the added advantages of mature and high producible Silicon wafer
processing.
=8V and an f T =25 GHz. The
BCEO
Package Type
The SGA-9189 power amplifier is packaged in a plastic encapsulated SOT-89 package
that is assembled using a highly reproducible automated assembly process. The die is
mounted using an industry standard thermally and electrically conductive silver epoxy.
The die is mounted directly to the exposed paddle to provide a low thermal resistance
path for heat conduction out of the package.
Figure 1 : Photograph of SOT 89 Encapsulated Plastic Package
Page 3
SGA-9189 Reliability Qualification Report
650
650
PASS
G
High Temp Storage 1000 hrs T= 150°C
JEDEC 22-A103A
8383PASS
Qualification Methodology
The Stanford Microdevices Qualification Procedure consists of a series of tests designed to
stress various potential failure mechanisms. This testing is performed to ensure that
Stanford Microdevices products are robust against potential failure modes that could arise
from the various die and package failure mechanisms stressed. The qualification testing is
based on JEDEC test methods common to the semiconductor industry. For the tests
requiring full RF and DC testing to determine PASS/FAIL, the manufacturing test
specifications are used as the PASS/FAIL criteria.
Qualification By Similarity
A device can be qualified by similarity to previously qualified products provided that no
new potential failure modes/mechanisms are possible in the new design as compared
to the qualified design. The following product has been qualified by similarity to SGA-9189
SGA-9289
Qualification Results
Group Test Description Test Standard Quantity InQuantity
Out
A0 Moisture Preconditioning / IR Reflow Simulation JEDEC 22-A113B
A1 Temp Cyle -65°c to 150°c 1000 cycles JEDEC 22-A104A 120 120 PASS
A2 High Temp Operating Life 1000 hrs. JEDEC 22-A108A 189 189 PASS
C Autoclave 121°c 15 PSI 96 hrs. JEDEC 22-A102B 80 80 PASS
E Solderbility Steam Age JEDEC 22-B102C 44 44 PASS
Table 1: Qualification Test Results for SGA-9189.
Results
Page 4
SGA-9189 Reliability Qualification Report
Junction Temperature Determination
One key issue in performing the qualification testing is to accurately determine the
junction temperature of the device. Stanford Microdevices uses a 3µm spot size infrared
camera that allows a device to be measured at its normal operational parameters. The
3µm spot size allows for very good resolution compared to the heat ed area of the
transistor, which in this case is approximately 1-2µm. The results for the device, running
at maximum operational current of 180mA, a device voltage of 5.0V, and a base plate
lead temperature of 85.5oC.
Tlead = 85C
Id = 180mA
Vd = 5.00V
Tj = 125C
Figure 2: Infrared Thermal Image of SGA 9189, Vd= 5.0V, Id = 180mA, Tlead= 85C
Page 5
SGA-9189 Reliability Qualification Report
Operational and Accelerated Life Testing
The purpose of the operational life test is to statistically show that the product operated at
125oC will be reliable. This is accomplished by operating several hundred devices for a
total test time of 1000 hours. The results for this test are expressed in device hours which
are calculated by multiplying the total number of devices passing by the number of hours
tested.
Operational Life Test Results
The results for SGA-9189 High Temperature Operating Life Test are as follows:
Group Test Time
(hours)
A2 1000 189 189 189,000
Quantity InQuantity
Out
Device
Hours
Table 2: High Temperature Operational Life Test Results
Accelerated Life Test Results
The following data demonstrates the results from accelerated lif e tests performed on the
Stanford 4A SiGe HBT Process. The test was performed on 77 units running at a peak
junction temperature of 195oC. The test exceeded 10,000 hours (1.14 years) with no
failures. The FIT rate / MTTF calculation can be found below. The FIT rates were
generated assuming 1 failure. In reality, there were no failures, making this a very
conservative calculation.
Stanford Microdevices Process 4ASiGe HBT
FIT Rate / MTTF Calculation
SGA Series Devices
Parameters
*Ea = 0.7 eV
Junction Temp C FIT Rate MTTF (hrs)
55 0.053 1.89E+10
125 4.136 2.42E+08
*The Ea of 0.7eV is conservative, 0.85eV is the activation energy for electomigration which is assumed to be the primary failure mechanism for
the SiGe process.
**Stanford Microdevices does not assume any liability arising from the use of this data.
Loading...