ENGINEERING FOR EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS
High Reliability Electronics for Harsh Environments
Specialist reliability engineering for critical electronics operating at elevated temperatures. SPACEREL assesses material and packaging risks, reviews service-life evidence and develops qualification strategies around your operating conditions and reliability requirements.
RELIABILITY IN HARSH ENVIRONMENTS
Reliability support for critical electronics
High temperature high reliability electronics must maintain their required function throughout a defined operating life, often where repair is difficult or failure carries significant consequences. Achieving this requires evidence about the complete assembly: its semiconductor devices, packaging, interconnects, materials and manufacturing processes.
SPACEREL helps engineering teams assess whether their design and qualification evidence support the intended application. We connect temperature exposure, electrical loading and other mission stresses to credible failure mechanisms, then identify the analysis, testing or design changes needed to address the important risks.
Our support applies to new designs, existing products, material substitutions, operating-temperature changes and investigations of unexpected degradation.
WHEN WE CAN HELP
Engineering challenges we help resolve
A device may operate at the required temperature while important questions remain about its long-term reliability. An assembly may also pass an established qualification programme without demonstrating suitability for a different duty cycle, service duration or installation.
We support projects where:
- Continuous operation approaches component or material temperature limits.
- Packaging, die attach, wire bonds or solder joints may restrict service life.
- Existing test results do not represent the proposed operating conditions.
- Thermal or power cycling introduces fatigue concerns.
- A life prediction relies on uncertain acceleration factors or limited data.
- Material, supplier or manufacturing changes require reassessment.
- Electrical drift, intermittent faults or physical damage appear during testing or service.
Applications include downhole instrumentation, energy systems, aerospace electronics, industrial sensing, power conversion and other critical electronic assemblies. The scope is defined around the actual hardware and operating environment.
ENGINEERING APPROACH
Our technical scope
Mission profiles and reliability requirements
We review how the equipment will be stored, operated and maintained, including temperature exposure, operating modes, duty cycle, electrical loading and relevant environmental stresses.
Ambient, case and junction temperatures are distinguished, together with local temperatures at potentially vulnerable interfaces. We help translate this information into requirements that connect functional performance, service duration and reliability objectives.
Where inputs are uncertain, the assessment identifies the measurements or supporting information needed before a stronger conclusion can be made.
Materials, packaging and interconnect assessment
We examine the assembly’s materials and interfaces to identify credible temperature-related failure risks. This can include die attachment, wire bonds, soldered connections, substrates, encapsulants, seals and thermal interfaces.
The review considers material compatibility, thermal expansion, manufacturing processes, ageing behaviour and the consequences of degradation. Particular attention is given to whether supplier data represent the material’s function and condition within the finished assembly.
The aim is to identify where additional evidence or design attention will have the greatest value.
Service-life assessment and model review
We assess the suitability of proposed life models and the evidence supporting their parameters. This includes examining temperature assumptions, activation energy, stress ranges, observed degradation and the basis for extrapolation.
A useful assessment distinguishes a calculated acceleration factor from a supported product-life claim. Where available evidence cannot justify the requested conclusion, we explain the limitation and identify practical options for reducing uncertainty.
These may include targeted testing, additional characterisation, revised operating limits or changes to the design.
Qualification and accelerated test planning
Our component and system qualification support develops test strategies around the mechanisms and decisions relevant to your programme.
Depending on the application, the plan may include powered ageing, high-temperature storage, thermal cycling, power cycling and focused package or materials evaluation. Test conditions, sample selection, monitoring, acceptance criteria and investigation requirements are defined together.
Applicable standards and customer requirements are considered within the agreed scope. Test severity must remain technically meaningful: accelerating damage is useful only when the results can be interpreted in relation to the intended service conditions.
Failure investigation and corrective action
Our electronic failure analysis support connects electrical symptoms with physical evidence.
Investigation planning can include electrical characterisation, non-destructive inspection, cross-sectioning, microscopy and materials analysis. Methods are selected to distinguish between plausible causes and preserve useful evidence.
Findings support corrective-action decisions and the verification needed to assess their effectiveness. Laboratory activities and responsibilities are defined within the project scope.
DOCUMENTED OUTCOMES
What you receive
Deliverables are agreed around the engineering question, available evidence and programme stage.
| Deliverable | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Mission-profile and requirements review | Establish the operating conditions and reliability objectives that the assessment must address. |
| Materials and failure-mechanism assessment | Identify vulnerable components, interfaces and processes. |
| Service-life and model review | Explain what existing data support and where assumptions materially affect the result. |
| Qualification or accelerated-test plan | Define the testing needed to resolve priority uncertainties. |
| Failure-investigation report | Connect observations to supported conclusions and corrective actions. |
| Prioritised recommendations | Set out the next steps for design, testing or operating decisions. |
PROJECT SUPPORT
Working with SPACEREL
An engagement begins with the decision you need to make: whether to qualify a design, accept a material change, extend operating life or investigate a failure.
We review the available information before recommending further work. Relevant inputs may include drawings, material specifications, supplier reports, temperature measurements, qualification results and failure history.
Support can be a focused technical review or a broader programme covering assessment, test planning and investigation. The scope defines deliverables, responsibilities and any specialist testing requirements.
BEFORE YOU ENQUIRE
Questions about our reliability support
Can you review existing evidence before recommending new tests?
Yes. Reviewing existing information can establish which questions are already addressed and where further evidence is needed. This is particularly valuable when the proposed application differs from the conditions covered by supplier qualification.
Can you support both components and complete assemblies?
Yes. The assessment can cover semiconductor devices, packages, hybrid modules and electronic assemblies, with system-level requirements considered where relevant. The scope follows the engineering risk rather than a single component category.
Can you confirm a specific operating life?
A defined reliability claim can be assessed when suitable data and justified assumptions are available. The conclusion must state its conditions, limitations and statistical confidence where applicable. An assessment does not guarantee that every unit will survive for a specified duration.
What information do you need to assess our electronics?
The most useful starting information is a description of the hardware, its intended operating conditions and the decision you need to make. Where available, this should include temperature measurements or estimates, operating duty, electrical loading, required service life and existing qualification results. Drawings, bills of materials and packaging details help identify potentially vulnerable interfaces. You do not need a complete information package before making contact. We can first review what is available and identify which missing details would materially affect the assessment.
Can you assess a module when we do not have its full design or material details?
An initial assessment can use supplier specifications, qualification reports, operating measurements and failure history. However, limited visibility of internal materials, die attachment or interconnections can restrict the conclusions that can be supported, particularly for long-term operation near temperature limits. We identify those limitations explicitly and consider whether targeted supplier questions, non-destructive inspection or representative testing could resolve them. The objective is to establish what the available evidence supports and which uncertainties remain relevant to your application.
Can you review whether our proposed accelerated test will provide useful evidence?
Yes. We can review the relationship between the proposed test conditions, the intended operating profile and the failure mechanisms of concern. This includes examining whether the selected temperature or combined stresses could introduce damage that would not dominate in service. We also consider sample selection, electrical monitoring, failure criteria and the assumptions behind any acceleration model. The outcome may be a revised test plan or a recommendation to resolve a specific uncertainty before committing hardware and laboratory time.
Can you assess a change to an adhesive, component or assembly process?
Yes. The assessment considers what has changed and how that change could affect the assembly’s reliability. For an adhesive substitution, relevant differences may include cure conditions, stiffness, thermal expansion, conductivity, adhesion and outgassing behaviour. A component or process change may introduce different packaging materials, interfaces or manufacturing variability. We review the available comparison data and identify which existing evidence remains applicable, where additional verification is justified and whether the change affects previously supported operating limits or service-life conclusions.
Can you help when hardware passes qualification but fails during operation?
Yes. We can examine whether the qualification programme represented the conditions associated with the failures. The review may consider local self-heating, start-up events, power cycling, installation stresses, manufacturing variation and differences between tested samples and production hardware. Failure investigation then helps distinguish plausible mechanisms and their underlying causes. A damaged feature alone is not sufficient to establish root cause: findings must be connected to the design, process or operating conditions that could produce it before corrective action is recommended.
Can the assessment help us decide between redesign, additional testing and operating restrictions?
Yes. We can compare these options against the identified failure risks and the strength of the available evidence. A temperature or loading restriction may reduce a relevant stress, but its effectiveness needs to be justified and achievable in service. Additional testing is useful when it resolves a defined uncertainty; redesign may be more appropriate when the construction itself limits the required performance or life. We explain the technical basis and remaining uncertainty for each option, helping your team make a decision that accounts for programme constraints.
Technical guide
High Temperature High Reliability Electronics
High temperature high reliability electronics must retain their required performance throughout a defined operating life. This article examines how semiconductor devices, packaging, materials and qualification evidence determine whether critical electronic systems can meet that requirement.
Read High Temperature High Reliability ElectronicsDiscuss the engineering challenge
A clear requirement is the first step.
If your programme depends on reliable electronics operating at elevated temperatures, describe the application and the decision you need to support.
Include the expected temperature range, required service life, operating duty and any existing test results or observed failures. If some of these details are not yet established, explain what is known and where you need support.
Connected expertise