Integrated circuits these days are found everywhere and not just in computers, music players, and tablets. In fact they proliferate the world around us and are found in common everyday devices such as TVs, remotes, fans, and even the seemingly mundane – like toasters. But even though these devices seem very basic to us, they're all based on printed circuit boards or "PCBs" for short. These PCBs can be very complex – so complex in fact that it's likely that no single human being fully understands how one works, down to the very last electronic circuit. Given this level of complexity, it's not surprising that PCB failure analysis is a critical component of the process which enables us to use these devices day in and day out with a high degree of reliability.

There are many failure analysis techniques. Some of them destroy the chip completely. Others preserve it for future analysis. These techniques are called Non Destructive Testing techniques or NDTs for short. We prefer to use NDTs before making use of procedures which destroy the chip. Let's take a look at a few of these procedures which are so instrumental in giving us the electronic devices we use everyday.

Types of PCB Failure Analysis

Nondestructive techniques cover a wide variety of technologies. They range from light emission spectroscopy, to the application of sound waves in order to probe for defects in material. The use case scenario for each varies. For example, light waves are primarily used to isolate defects in the composition of the material. X-rays on the other hand are used to obtain a glimpse into the internal workings of the circuits.

Other procedures involve isolating defective circuits which can lead to overheating. For common users this can manifest itself as a burned remote for example. The rarity of these occurrences is a testament to the thoroughness of the testing which takes place before these devices are allowed to reach us.

When all other methods fail, we might have to open the packages or "decapsulate" them to confirm our suspicions of what has gone wrong. But sometimes it's the only way to be sure. It takes a great deal of experience and skill to correctly analyze a failed chip.

PCB failure analysis experts do their work in the background. They are unheralded and often overlooked. But without them, we would not have nearly the same reliability of electronics that we take for granted every day.

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