Reliability and Failure of Electronic Materials and Devices, 2nd Edition

Preface to the First Edition

Reliability is an important attribute of all engineering endeavors that conjures up notions of dependability, trustworthiness, and confidence. It spells out a prescription for competitiveness in manufacturing, because the lack of reliability means service failures that often result in inconvenience, personal injury, and financial loss. More pointedly, our survival in a high-tech future increasingly hinges on products based on microelectronics and optoelectronics where reliability and related manufacturing concerns of defects, quality, and yield are of critical interest. Despite their unquestioned importance, these subjects are largely ignored in engineering curricula. Industry compensates for this educational neglect ...