Reliability

Spansion understands that product reliability is paramount. That is why we work closely with customers to help ensure reliable product operation throughout the life of the product. Performance metrics are clearly defined through a combination of documented customer specifications and those defined by Spansion. These metrics are then integrated into our specified policies and procedures to maximize conformance, while also ensuring that customer needs are identified and addressed.

Spansion products are qualified to the most stringent industry standards. Generally, Spansion chooses to adhere to JEDEC, EIA and EIAJ standards while automotive TS-grade products undergo qualifications defined by the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) and contained in the AEC-Q100 qualification standard.

As a leader in non-volatile memory, Spansion also conducts extensive research into the fundamental reliability of its technologies, products, and packages to ensure that we understand the capabilities as well as the limitations of everything we produce. Reliability models are identified, documented, and implemented into the design of all Spansion products as well as the manufacturing processes used to produce them.

Key elements of Spansion’s Quality Management System focused on reliability assurance include:

Product Life Cycle Policy (PLC) / Unified Milestone System (UMS)

Spansion’s PLC/UMS procedures have been designed to enable rapid new product introduction; controlled, predictable manufacturing; and continual improvement of our products at the highest levels of quality and reliability. PLC/UMS applies to all Spansion products and projects and supports the software, hardware, design systems, wafer fabrication, packaging and test processes currently in place at all Spansion sites, foundries and subcontractor locations. Furthermore, the policy is based on industry-leading concepts of Project Management and Advanced Product Quality Planning.

Product Life Cycle Management

Critical decision points are integrated as Milestones in the product life cycle. Review, strict control and cross functional team approvals are required at each milestone to move forward. Major Milestones, defined as Stage exit, require additional Executive Approval. Spansion defines the following Stages in the product life cycle:

• Product Feasibility and Definition
• Pre Silicon Development
• Post Silicon Validation/Characterization and Qualification
• Full Qualification Release and Production Ramp
• Mass Production through EOL

Comprehensive Reliability Laboratories

To support both qualification and research, Spansion maintains state-of-the-art Reliability Labs in many locations worldwide, including the United States, Thailand, Malaysia, and Israel. These labs are supported by extensive Quality and Reliability Engineering resources and are closely coupled with Device Analysis Labs (most co-located at the same sites) to ensure that any reliability test failures are promptly analyzed and understood and appropriate corrective actions identified and deployed. The Reliability Laboratory plays a key role in the execution of our Quality Management System and our drive towards total customer satisfaction.

Technology Reliability Engineering

Spansion ensures that all our technologies have designed in reliability from the definition of the technology to the transfer to the manufacturing environment.

• Perform process technology reliability qualification of all Spansion’s technologies, fabs and foundries per PLC/UMS requirements
• Identify new reliability hazards for new technologies to avoid all known reliability hazards, and develop and implement reliability structures, methodologies, test systems, and lifetime models for new technologies
• Develop, implement and transfer wafer level reliability (WLR) tools and monitors into wafer manufacturing operations to achieve world-class reliability in new technologies and fabs
• Support the product design-in-reliability activities by identifying, developing and updating technology reliability design rules, tools and procedures
• Support and collaborate with process integration and technology transfer groups for process modification, recipe change, tool and fab qualification

Qualification Maintenance Program

With reliability qualification facilities (Reliability Laboratories) in Penang, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, each lab provides testing services to support design, package and technology validation, Qualification Maintenance Program (QMP) and customers’ qualification requests. In QMP, periodic reliability tests are defined and performed to estimate field reliability and identify reliability hazards, thus driving continual improvement of Spansion products and manufacturing processes.

The Reliability Labs conduct all required reliability testing per JEDEC and other industry standards:

• High Temperature Operating Life (HTOL)
• Endurance Life
• Highly Accelerated Stress Test (HAST)
• Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
• Preconditioning
• Temperature Cycle (TC)
• Bake
• Temperature and Humidity testing
• Board Level Reliability
• Gate Leakage Test

For more information on product qualification and our process-based approach to reliability, please see the Spansion Quality Manual.