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ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 18 NO. 3
GUEST EDITORIAL
CONTINUED FROM
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approaches or techniques. This is essential in cases
where difficult problems are encountered or new phe-
nomena are observed.
• Clues that were observed early in the investigation,
but whose significance was not initially realized, can
be taken into account when
one analyst
performs
various steps. This is in contrast with a scheme where
each “expert” sees only a small piece of the puzzle, with
incomplete knowledge of what else was seen.
• It facilitates high flexibility in utilizing total avail-
able resources and capabilities for the benefit of
the customers, not to mention the wider scope and
possibilities/challenges for personal development of
failure analysts.
FA PROCESS AND TASKS OF THE
FAILURE ANALYST
The failure analyst must act as a troubleshooter, work
together with the customer, and strive to understand all
aspects of the problem that may have an impact on the
root cause.
It is the task of the failure analyst to cast a sufficiently
wide net when investigating a problem. That is, the
analyst must actively question the assumptions made
by the customer on possible causes and respectfully but
firmly insist on data that test various hypotheses, so as
not to “take anybody’s word for it.” The failure analyst is
responsible for guiding the investigation to the root cause,
not just for performing the analysis steps the customer
may have in mind.
To do this, the analyst must be multilingual, master-
ing the mother tongue of FA engineering and speaking
fluently the languages of front- and back-end processes,
design, and test. Last but not least, the failure analyst
must excel in communication skills worthy of leading a
problem-solving team and ultimately speaking the end-
customer’s language.
If all of these qualities were met, an FA engineer
becomes a forensic investigator, not just revealing the
physical cause but also explaining what led to the failure
and therefore solving amuch bigger puzzle for the benefit
of the company and its end-customer.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
“TheNext Generationof FA Engineer” is the topic of the
ISTFA 2016 Panel Discussion. Please join the conversation
in Fort Worth!
NANOTS 2016
The 36th annual NANO Testing Symposium (NANOTS 2016) will be held
November 9 to 11, 2016,
at the Senri Life-Science Center in Toyonaka, Osaka,
Japan. NANOTS is one of the leading technical symposia for discussing solutions
that improve the testing process of nanoscale devices and materials. The three-
day event will consist of a symposiumwith a special invited talk, a special session,
technical sessions, a commercial session, an equipment exhibition, and an evening session.
NANOTS is sponsored by the Institute of NANO Testing in cooperation with the Institute of Electronics, Information,
and Communication Engineers, the Japan Society of Applied Physics, the Reliability Engineering Association of Japan,
and the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers.
For more information, visit the NANOTS website at www-nanots.ist.osaka-u.ac.jp/en.
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