TABLE OF CONTENTS In our modern, growingly electronic world, the reliability of electronic system is assuming paramount importance. $500 to $1,500 worth of electronics are used in each vehicle by automobile manufacturers [1]. About 60% of a military aircraft's cost now goes to its electronic systems, and many contracts require the manufacturer to provide service at a fixed price for product defects that occur during the warranty period [1].
Workmanship problems have been attracting more and more attention from the customers. "Never buy a car made on Monday or Friday," says the folk wisdom on U.S. automobiles. Over half the effort has been reportedly applied to rework in the United States, according to Willis J. Willoughby, director of reliability, maintainability, and quality assurance in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Shipbuilding and Logistics [1]. He has estimated that the national average is about 15% to 20%. Though some defects due to design and workmanship problems are identified prior to delivery by quality control inspections, others often pass undetected, escape to the field and cause the early failures during the warranty period.
A common and widely-conducted practice of eliminating infant mortalities in electronic equipment manufacturing circles has been to "burn-in" a component population prior to product shipment. Scientifically planned and conducted burn-in will surface those items with part or workmanship defects and improve a product's reliability performance in the field. Usually burn-in involves aging (baking) items under normal operating conditions, which may take considerable time and...
