Electronic components are the foundation of entire machines. In the manufacturing process, defects or poor control can cause failures due to time or stress. To ensure the reliability of a batch of components, it’s important to remove those that might fail early during use. This helps meet the system’s overall requirements. The failure rate of components over time follows a “bathtub curve.” Initially, early failures occur frequently. Then, they drop off quickly. After that, the failure rate stabilizes during the useful life period, which is the random failure phase. Today, we share some applications of Temperature and Humidity Controlled Cabinets in the electronics components industry.
Constant temperature and humidity-controlled cabinets are used in many industries. These include electronics, automation, communication, and automotive. They also serve metals, chemicals, plastics, national defense, and aerospace. They test military equipment, BGA, PCB substrates, IC chips, semiconductor ceramics, and polymers, too. These constant climate chambers test how materials change and withstand high and low temperatures. They also look at chemical changes and physical damage from thermal expansion and contraction. This process helps ensure product quality. They are essential testing tools for all sectors, from precision ICs to heavy mechanical parts.
High-Temperature Storage Function of Temperature and Humidity Controlled Cabinet
Most electronic component failures happen because of physical and chemical changes. These changes occur on the surface or inside the material. Temperature plays a big role in this. As the temperature rises, chemical reactions speed up. This quickens the failure process. This allows defective components to be identified and removed promptly.
High-temperature screening is widely used in semiconductor devices. It removes parts that fail due to surface contamination, weak bonding, or bad oxide layers. Typically, components are stored at the maximum junction temperature for 24 to 168 hours. High-temperature screening is simple, cost-effective, and applicable to many component types. It can also stabilize the performance parameters of components and reduce drift during use. But you need to choose thermal stress and screening time carefully. This helps avoid new failure mechanisms.
Power Burn-In Function of Temperature and Humidity Controlled Cabinet
Power burn-in uses thermal and electrical stress to reveal hidden defects in components. This process is crucial for reliability screening. Various electronic components are typically burned in at rated power conditions for several hours up to 168 hours.
For certain products, such as integrated circuits, conditions cannot be arbitrarily changed. Instead, high-temperature methods raise the junction temperature. This induces high-stress states. Select electrical stress wisely. It should match or be a bit higher than the rated conditions. Avoid introducing new failure modes.
Power burn-in requires specialized testing equipment and can be costly, so the screening time should not be excessive. Consumer-grade products usually need a burn-in of several hours. Military-grade high-reliability products often require 100 to 168 hours. Aerospace-grade components can need 240 hours or more.
Temperature Cycling Function of Temperature and Humidity Controlled Cabinet
Electronic products often face varying environmental temperatures during use. Components that don’t handle heat well can fail under thermal stress from expansion and contraction. Temperature cycling screening uses high and low temperatures to create stress. This process helps find and remove components with thermal performance issues. Common temperature cycling conditions range from -55°C to +125°C, repeated over 5–10 cycles.
Damp Heat Testing
This test simulates the effects of high-humidity environments on electronic components. ChiuVention‘s lab has a lot of experience in damp heat testing. They check how materials resist moisture. They also check for chemical or physical changes in products exposed to humidity. This ensures product reliability in real-world applications.
The Necessity of Component Screening
The inherent reliability of electronic components depends on reliability-oriented design. Human errors, changes in raw materials, processing conditions, and equipment settings can all affect manufacturing. Because of this, not all finished products meet their expected reliability. In each production batch, some products may have defects. These weaknesses can lead to early failures when under stress.
Components that tend to fail early have shorter average lifespans than normal ones. The reliability of electronic equipment relies on the quality of its components. Installing parts that fail fast can raise the failure rate of the entire machine. This makes the system less reliable and leads to high repair costs.
So, it’s important to remove these faulty parts before they are put into systems. Effective screening can reduce the failure rate by 10 to 100 times. This is backed by both domestic and international experience. Screening is essential for both military and civilian products to ensure reliability.
Sample Testing Cases Using Temperature and Humidity Controlled Cabinet
1. Chip Temperature and Humidity Stress Test
Goal: Check how stable chips are in various temperatures and humidity levels. This ensures they work well in tough conditions.
Procedure:
Place chip samples in a constant temperature and humidity chamber.
Set the temperature range from -40°C to 85°C and humidity from 20% to 98%.
Conduct the following temperature-humidity cycle:
a. Low temperature/high humidity phase: -40°C and 98% RH for 8 hours.
b. High temperature/low humidity phase: 85°C and 20% RH for 8 hours.
c. Recovery phase: return to room temperature (≈25°C) and 50% RH for 8 hours.
Repeat the above cycle (24 hours each) for many iterations.
Standard: GB/T 2423.4-2008 (Test Method Db: Alternating Damp Heat, 12 h + 12 h cycle)
2. Chip Aging Test
Goal: To speed up aging tests and check chip lifespan and stability over time.
Procedure:
Select a batch of chip samples and perform initial electrical tests.
Place samples in a Temperature and humidity-controlled cabinet at 125°C and 85% RH for 1,000 hours.
Sample chips at regular intervals during testing and record performance changes.
Standard: GB/T 2423.3-2016 (Test Method Cab: Constant Damp Heat Test Method)
3. Chip Package Moisture Sensitivity Test
Goal: Assess how chip packaging reacts to different humidity levels. This helps lower the risk of moisture-related failures.
Procedure:
Choose some packaged chip samples. Pre-treat them, then put them in a temperature and humidity-controlled cabinet with a steady temperature and humidity.
Set the humidity at 85% and the temperature at 60°C.
Expose for 168 hours, then remove samples for soldering stress testing.
Standard: IPC/JEDEC J-STD-020E (Moisture/Reflow Sensitivity for Surface Mount Devices)
The company uses key experiments to test chip performance in extreme conditions. This ensures the chips are stable and reliable in the long run. This enhances product quality and market competitiveness. The company will use ChiuVention’s tech to face future market competition and challenges. This will help drive innovation and lead to industry growth. We’ll deliver top products and services to customers around the globe.