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This paper describes a joint SAE automotive and aerospace Recommended Practice SAE J3168 now in development to standardize a process for Reliability Physics Analysis. This is a science-based approach to implement Physics-of-Failure research in conducting durability simulations in a Computer Aided Engineering Environment. It is used to calculate failure mechanism susceptibilities and estimate the likelihood of failure and the expected durability life of Electrical, Electronic and Electromechanical components and equipment, due to stresses such as mechanical shock, vibration, temperature cycling, etc. Reliability Physics Analysis is based on the material science principle of stress driven damage accumulation in materials. The process enables the identification of potential failure risks early in the design phase so that such risks can be designed out in order to efficiently design high reliable and robustness into electronic products.

The use of Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) for measuring accelerations, pressure, gyroscopic yaw rate and humidity in engine controls, inflatable restraint, braking, stability and other safety critical vehicle systems is increasing. Their use in these safety critical systems in high stress automotive environments makes ensuring their reliability and durability essential tasks, especially as the Vehicle System Functional Safety requirements of ISO-26262 are being implemented across the industry. A Design for Reliability (DfR) approach that applies Physics of Failure methods to evaluate and eliminate or mitigate susceptibilities to failure modes of a device during the design of a product is the most effective and efficient way to achieve Functional Safety levels of reliability-durability. MEMS packages exhibit several failure modes that can be predicted as a device is designed using modern Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software tools.

Quality, Reliability, Durability (QRD) and Safety of vehicular Electrical/Electronics (E/E) systems traditionally have resulted from arduous rounds of Design-Built-Test-Fix (DBTF) Reliability and Durability Growth Testing. Such tests have historically required 12-16 or more weeks of Accelerated Life Testing (ALT), for each round of validation in a new product development program. Challenges have arisen from: The increasing number of E/E modules in today's vehicle places a high burden on supplier's test labs and budgets. The large size and mass of electric vehicle power modules results in a lower test acceleration factors which can extend each round of ALT to 5-6 months. Durability failures tend to occur late in life testing, resulting in the need to: perform a root cause investigation, fix the problem, build new prototype parts and then repeat the test to verify problem resolutions, which severely stress program budgets and schedules.