TABLE OF CONTENTS Uprating by assembly test is a method of thermally uprating devices by testing the assemblies that contain them. Tests are conducted at the assembly level to verify by test correlation that the devices function satisfactorily at the target application temperature range.
This process is to be used to demonstrate the capability of a device to provide the needed function and performance as it is applied in a larger assembly containing other devices and functions, over the target application temperature range. This does not imply assessment of full device capability for all its specified performance characteristics. Only those performance characteristics that are important to the proper performance in the application in which it is used are assessed. Thus, devices that demonstrate acceptance in one application are not automatically approved for other applications.
Typically, assembly level tests are designed to test basic functional performance of an assembly or device. All functions or key characteristics of the end product are checked at some point in the quality assurance process, whether at the circuit card level or end product level or somewhere in between. The difference between the typical case and the process described here is that the device's role in these functions, or "key characteristics", of the assembly must be traced and capability verified by assembly test over the target application temperature range
If assembly level testing is used, the following process should be followed.
The major steps of the assembly...
