Course: ES 10 105 A /VL 11 105 A - Electronic System design

Digital System Reliability

Faculty: Anoop Mathew, HoD ECE

3/21/15

Introduction
Reliability of a digital system is the likelihood that it works
correctly when you need it.
Mathematically, Reliability is a real number between 0 and 1;
that is, at any time 0 R(t) 1.

Typical reliability function

Reliability

N identical copies of the system. Let WN(t) denote the number of them
that would still be working at time t.

Reliability of new components may be estimated or extrapolated from

experience with something similar.
A components reliability is typically described by a single number,
the failure rate.

Parameters associated with

Reliability
1. Mean Time between Failures (MTBF)
2. Mean Time to Failure (MTTF)
3. Availability

MEAN TIME BETWEEN FAILURES

In the early stages of operation failures could
be high
Failures decrease as weak components fail
quickly and are replaced
Late in its life, components may begin to
wear out or corrosion may take its toll, and
the failure rate may start to rise again.
The reciprocal of failure rate during the
constant period is known as the mean time
between failures (MTBF).
MTBF is generally quoted in hours, while
failure rate is quoted in faults per hour.

MEAN TIME TO FAILURE (MTTF)

MTBF measures equipment reliability on the
assumption that it is repaired on each failure
and put back into service.
For components which are not repairable,
their reliability is quoted as mean time to
failure (MTTF).
MTTF can be calculated statistically by
observing a sample from a batch of
components and recording each ones
working life, this procedure known as life
testing.
The MTTF for this batch is then given by the
mean of the lifetimes.

AVAILABILITY (A)
Availability is given by the ratio of up-time,
(U) during which the system is switched on
and working, to total operating time.
A = U/(U + D)
A =MTBF/(MTBF x MTTR)
Availability can also be interpreted as a
probability that at any given instant the
system will be found to be working.

Reliability Vs Cost

DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY

The goal of any circuit designer is to reduce
the failure rate of their design to the
minimum achievable within cost constraints.

The factors that help to meet DFR

use effective thermal management to
minimize temperature rise;
de-rate susceptible components as far as
possible;
specify high reliability or quality assured
components;
specify stress screening or burn-in tests;
keep circuits simple, use the minimum
number of components; and
use redundancy techniques at the component
level.

Temperature
High temperature is the biggest enemy of all
electronic components and measures to keep
it down are vital.
Temperature rise accelerates component
breakdown because chemical reactions
occurring within the component.
The rate of reaction is determined by the
Arrhenius equation,
= K.e(-E/kT)
where, - a measure of failure rate
K - a constant depending on the component
type.
E - reactions activation energy
k - Boltzmanns constant
T - Absolute temperature

De-Rating
There is a very significant improvement to be
gained by operating a component well within
its nominal rating.
Capacitor life tests show that as the
maximum working voltage is approached, the
failure rate increases as the fifth power of
the voltage.
Semiconductor devices are normally rated for
power, current, voltage and de-rating on all
of these will improve failure rate.

Usage of High Reliability Components

It is worth spending extra to specify and
purchase parts with a guaranteed reliability
specification at the front end of production.

Stress Screening and Burn-in

This phrase refers to testing the components
under some type of stress, typically at
elevated temperature, under vibration or
humidity and with maximum rated voltage
applied, for a given period. This practice is
also called burning-in.
Another common test is a repeated
temperature cycle between the extremes of
the permitted temperature range, which
exposes failures due to poor bonding or other
mechanical faults.

Simplicity
The failure rate of an electronic assembly is
roughly equal to the sum of the failure rates
of all its components.
Reducing the number of components will
reduce the overall failure rate.

Redundancy
Redundancy is employed at the system level
by connecting the outputs of two or more
subsystems together such that if one fails,
the others will continue to keep the system
working.
A typical example might be several power
supplies, each connected to the same power
distribution rail (via isolating diodes) and
each capable of supplying the full load.

Thank You

Queries ???
Mail to: anoopmathew@ieee.org
3/21/15

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