Arranging For Semiconductor Testing? Ensure You're On The Same Page
When you build a product that uses a semiconductor, you want that product to work perfectly, or at least as well as possible given real-life conditions. Testing the semiconductor material is essential, but as semiconductors and products become more complex, you need to be sure that both you and the testing company are on the same page. If you don't spell out exactly what you need, you could end up with products that aren't tested in the way that you had hoped.
System-Level
You'll hear a lot about "system-level" tests, but that's a general term that can have different interpretations. The goal is generally the same -- test the product or system as it's meant to be used in real life and not a lab -- but you and the company need to agree on what parts get system-level tests and what you're looking for. For example, a computer hard drive may need a system-level test, but the memory itself may need its own system-level test, too. Work all that out so you know exactly what's being done.
Temperature Ranges
Products have minimum and maximum operating temperature ranges. Outside these ranges, they don't work well or don't work at all. Some products have varying ranges; for example, items in cars meant to work in more southern climates with hotter summers versus those made to work in more northern climates with colder winters. Make sure you and the company agree on which temperatures these products will be tested at.
Packaging Stages
The packaging here doesn't refer to the plastic consumer packaging that the final product will use. It refers to the container, tube, or other forms the final product will take. For example, hard drive components end up in metal boxes that can be attached to the interior of a computer. But this packaging can vary, and it can make testing more difficult. These products may require multiple tests depending on how they are set up.
So, this is not just a matter of sending a product to a company and having them run it through one or two tests. Running the wrong tests or running tests that don't look at the extremes you need to see how the final product works -- or fails -- for consumers and other industries. Get all of the details in place so that each test that needs to be done is completed to your satisfaction. To learn more, contact a company like Unisem.