Study the Impact of Various Stresses on Miniaturized Surface Mount Resistors for Electronics in Space Applications

Abstract

Current trend in electronics industry is to miniaturize the devices, which has increased the usage of surface mount devices. Surface mount devices are becoming smaller and smaller due to technological advancements. This has reduced the required space for component mounting, hence reducing the circuit size drastically. They are in prime demand for novel and advanced technologies, primarily used in various high end applications, especially space. As component size gets reduced, there will be different effects of various stresses on it. Resistors are vital part of any circuit design. It is virtually impossible to build any electronic circuit without involving resistors in one or other way. Due to technological advancements, resistors are becoming smaller and smaller. These small dimensional surface mount resistors are to be used for space applications which requires very robust construction to operate in harsh conditions. Harsh condition includes various stresses starting from component manufacturing, assembly and storage as well as during service life. Effect of various stresses on larger sized components are well established. However, applicability and effect of these stresses for miniaturized resistors are need to be studied. Hence, in current research performance analysis of miniaturized surface mount thick and thin film resistors under various stresses are included. For that, test plan is generated which includes various tests related to thermal, electrical, environmental (in presence of humidity) as well as ESD stresses. The selected resistors have different film and substrate material, power rating, size as well as termination style. Results of these stresses are parametric shift at initial stage followed by open circuit or short circuit failure mode of resistor. The analysis gives information about the type of failure mechanism activated through different stresses. Data gathered from all the tests will be helpful in selection of a component for specific application. This study improves reliability of any circuit/subsystem and hence may enrich overall reliability of the system/mission.