edfas.org ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 28 NO. 1 2 I am writing this guest editorial just a few days after returning from the International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA) 2025. Once again, it was an outstanding edition—featuring high-level papers and tutorials, excellent user group sessions, a vibrant exhibition, and countless networking opportunities. It was wonderful to reconnect with many FA colleagues and make new friends along the way. If you work in the field of failure analysis, whether you are just starting out or already an expert, I strongly recommend attending this conference. For me, ISTFA 2025 was bittersweet, as it was most likely my last attendance. If all goes as planned, I will retire on July 1, 2026. My first ISTFA experience dates back to 1997. Around 1995, imec acquired a photon emission spectroscopy (PEM) tool, which we primarily used for research on single devices such as locating high-resistive spots in TiSi2 lines or pinpointing breakdown positions in micron-wide capacitors and transistors. Together with my Ph.D. student Mahmoud Rasras, now a professor at NYU Abu Dhabi, we developed a simple system for PEM. Christian Boit, FASM, and his group had already introduced the concept of photon emission spectrum analysis in 1992 using filters.[1] Later, Liu et al.,[2] added a separate spectrometer and detector to obtain a continuous spectrum. We simplified the idea by inserting a prism between the PEM microscope and a movable detector and presented this spectroscopic photo emission microscope (SPEMMI) system at ISTFA 1997. I immediately fell in love with the conference. At that time, my main research focus was Raman spectroscopy (RS) for measuring stress induced by local oxidation processes in silicon (remember LOCOS and LOPOS). This work brought me back to ISTFA in 1998, where I presented a paper on the correlation between mechanical stress (measured by RS) and defects caused by shallow trench isolation. From then on, I was hooked. ISTFA became a place where I learned immensely, expanded my network, and gradually became involved in its organization. As my research group at imec grew, we ventured into MEMS testing and reliability—and naturally, failure analysis—giving me the chance to attend ISTFA’s MEMS sessions. I contributed to the first chapter on MEMS FA for the EDFAS Microelectronics Failure Analysis Desk Reference and had the honor of chairing a lively panel discussion: “Is training the failure analysts failing?”—a question that remains relevant today. Between 2003 and 2005, I delivered tutorials on MEMS FA and chaired MEMS sessions. Over the years, I met countless amazing people—too many to name here—but I must make one exception for Ted Lundquist; always kind and helpful, who sadly is no longer with us. FEBRUARY 2026 | VOLUME 28 | ISSUE 1 A RESOURCE FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS GUEST EDITORIAL THREE DECADES AT ISTFA: A JOURNEY OF LEARNING AND NETWORKING Ingrid De Wolf, FASM, imec and KULeuven ingrid.dewolf@imec.be edfas.org (continued on page 38) PURPOSE: To provide a technical condensation of information of interest to electronic device failure analysis technicians, engineers, and managers. Nicholas Antoniou Editor/KLA nicholas.antoniou@kla.com Joanne Miller Senior Editor Victoria Burt Managing Editor Allison Freeman Production Supervisor ASSOCIATE EDITORS Navid Asadi University of Florida Guillaume Bascoul CNES France Felix Beaudoin GlobalFoundries Michael R. Bruce Consultant Jiann Min Chin Advanced Micro Devices Singapore Michael DiBattista Varioscale Inc. Rosine Coq Germanicus Universitié de Caen Normandie Szu Huat Goh Qualcomm Jason Holm NIST Ted Kolasa Northrop Grumman Space Systems Joy Liao Nvidia Corp. Rosalinda M. Ring NenoVision Tom Schamp E-Space David Su Yi-Xiang Investment Co. Martin Versen University of Applied Sciences Rosenheim, Germany FOUNDING EDITORS Edward I. Cole, Jr. Sandia National Labs Lawrence C. Wagner LWSN Consulting Inc. GRAPHIC DESIGN Jan Nejedlik, jan@designbyj.com PRESS RELEASE SUBMISSIONS magazines@asminternational.org Electronic Device Failure Analysis™ (ISSN 1537-0755) is published quarterly by ASM International®, 9639 Kinsman Road, Materials Park, OH 44073; tel: 800.336.5152; website: edfas. org. Copyright © 2026 by ASM International. Receive Electronic Device Failure Analysis as part of your EDFAS membership. Non-member subscription rate is $175 U.S. per year. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by ASM International for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Transactional Reporting Service, provided that the base fee of $19 per article is paid directly to CCC, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Electronic Device Failure Analysis is indexed or abstracted by Compendex, EBSCO, Gale, and ProQuest. De Wolf
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