Mentor Blogs

An important performance metric for any system is reliability — does the system do what it’s supposed to do, when it’s supposed to do it, time after time, without fault or failure. Obviously, system reliability doesn’t just happen; it’s not just dumb luck when a system delivers flawless performance, whether it’s your car, your cell phone, your garage door opener, or your … Read More

Minitab, Reliability, Experiment Manager

“Authorities in the US have instructed Sony to conduct a recall of its Vaio laptops, after problems with overheating were reported.” started this article on the BBC’s web site. There is a saying, ” the news is never as good or as bad as it is first reported”. And so it is with this story. It’s not a product recall, as the story later goes on to explain, but what grabbed my attention was that the problem … Read More

Design Process, Electronics Cooling, CFD, Thermal Design, Thermal Management, Reliability

Just a quick note that I will be participating in an EDN Editorial Webcast on Friday, June 25, 2010.  There are four panelists that offer up some valuable insight into the challenges associated with the reliability of LEDS.  LEDS are a relatively new technology when compared to other semiconductor devices and standards for testing and reliability prediction are not yet universally accepted. You can … Read More

MCPCB, Reliability, LEDs, Thermal Testing, Thermal Design

Thermal management of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) is an important application for CFD software, which is helping designers use LEDs for high-power lighting applications. However, LEDs are changing our lives in so many more ways than simply providing more energy efficient or more aesthetic lighting solutions. Last year I posted about a light therapy device that desensitizes the nasal passages, inhibiting … Read More

Skin Cancer, Reliability, Thermal Characterization, CFD, Electronics Cooling, Air Cooling, Thermal Design, LEDs, Light therapy, Energy Saving, FloEFD

Just a quick post to let you know yours truly will be giving a presentation on: Thermal Design: A Key Part of the Electronics Design Flow At the UK Solutions Expo at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon on 12th November. Miniaturization continues to increase power densities at all packaging levels, forcing design teams to identify new methods of cooling. The challenge remains consistent at all levels … Read More

Thermal Design, Shortening Design Time, Thermal Management, Electronics Cooling, Cost Saving, PCB Respin, Reliability, FloTHERM.PACK, FloTHERM.PCB

I got some questions from my last installment of this series asking for some pictures of defects that caused yield issues in production that could have been avoided during design. It struck me that most designers probably never get a chance to see the manufacturing problems their designs encounter. Since my background is in the fab, I wrongly assumed everyone had lived through the same pain as myself. … Read More

Reliability, IC Verification, Yield, Design Quality, Design for Manufacturing, Scoring, Design Rules, IC Design, Physical Verification, Design Rule Checking

Well, day two of DAC started a little earlier than the first day. I had to attend the speakers breakfast for the paper I was going to give later that day. However, after breakfast I had my 9am suite presentation on eqDRC again and I also had a special guest again. This time it was Robert Boone from Freescale in Austin, TX. He works in the DFM team and he also agreed to come tell everyone what he and … Read More

Reliability, IC Verification, Yield, Physical Verification, Design for Manufacturing, DAC, DRC, IC Design, Improvability, Design Rule Checking, Design Rules

It’s been a while since I posted on the BBQ. It’s not laziness per se, rather a combination of laziness and working on simulating the BBQ. This is just a quick post to point out a recent article in Electronic Design Magazine on the link between thermal management and product reliability which you can find here. Traditionally companies have sought to improve product reliability by reducing steady-state … Read More

Reliability, Thermal Management, Electronics Cooling

One of the fundamental questions everyone asks about DFM is “why should I do it?” On the one hand this always strikes me as a funny question. I always look at DFM in the same way I think of automobile safety. Statistically, most people never get in a serious accident. So why would you spend so much money on airbags, antilock brakes, better seat belts, side door reinforcements, traction control, etc. … Read More

Yield, Design Quality, Design for Manufacturing, IC Verification, Reliability, Physical Verification, IC Design

I got a kick out of Rohan’s comment on my previous blog (How do you define DFM?).  It is too easy to assume that anyone knows what you are talking about when you say DFM.  Just because everyone has been talking about it doesn’t mean any of them know what they are talking about. You could probably infer from my approach to the previous blog that my background is primarily on the manufacturing side. … Read More

Design Quality, Design for Manufacturing, Reliability, Yield, IC Design, IC Verification