Auburn University has a demonstrated research focus on electronics reliability. Extreme Environment Experimental research capabilities include several laboratories including a surface-mount assembly line. It is believed that these facilities are among the best available at any university in the nation in the areas of electronic assembly, packaging, and reliability. A description of these and other facilities is given below.

Modeling and Simulations Tools
The laboratory has a full suite of computer-aided design, and high-end simulation tools. Computer-aided design tools include Pro-Engineer and Solid Edge. Simulation tools include, ANSYS, LS-DYNA, ABAQUS, ABAQUS/Explicit, NASTRAN, and MATLAB. The laboratory is well equipped with dual-processor Pentium-class workstations, and Unix multi-processor compute server.

Transient Dynamics Laboratory
The laboratory is equipped with state-of-art facilities for measurement of high-speed, high strain rate transient dynamic events such as shock and vibration. Equipment includes, high speed data acquisition systems, Vision Research Phantom-Series high-speed camera capable of 275,000 fps, SAI 3D image tracking software for high-speed image analysis and measurement, oscilloscopes, HP Spectrum Analyzers, vishay instruments 2311 high-speed wide-band strain-gage amplifier, motion-control drop tower, LDS v700 Series vibration system. Full-field strain measurement capabilities using digital image correlation. (Figure 1)

Design and Artwork
The laboratory has capability of complete set of electrical design and layout tools. Specific software and hardware includes, SUN Workstations and PCs, Complete Mentor Graphics Suite, ORCAD PWB Layout & Simulator, IntelliSuite MEMS CAD software, Lavenir, CAM View, AutoCAD, Optronics Film Master 2000 Laser Photoplotter

Surface Mount Assembly
This laboratory includes a state-of-the-art high volume surface mount assembly line capable of flip chip assembly, as well as other equipment for advanced electronics packaging including manual and automated wire bonders, encapsulant dispense systems, facilities for thick/thin film hybrid circuit fabrication on ceramic substrates, and a vacuum solder sealing system for MEMS and SiC packaging. The surface mount assembly line can be used for prototype creation, fabrication of test structures, development of manufacturing processes or new product launch platform. In addition, in-line inspection capabilities enable x-ray, acoustic and laser profilometry based inspections. In addition, the laboratory has semi-automatic placement machines and rework stations. Specific equipment includes, MPM AP Solder Paste Printer with Vision System, Agilent SP1 Solder Paste Inspection System, Asymtek Flux Jetting System, Siemens SIPLACE 80F5 Pick and Place Machine, VISCOM VPS 6053 Automated Optical Inspection System, Heller 1800 Solder Reflow Conveyer Oven with Nitrogen Capability, Slim-KIC 2000 Thermal Profiling System, CAM/ALOT 3700 Encapsulant Dispense System (Figure 2)

Electronic Packaging
Air Vac DRS24 Solder Rework Station, Semiconductor Equipment Corporation 4150 Split Optics Alignment System for Die Placement, Karl Suss Thermocompression Flip Chip Bonder, Yield Engineering YES-R3 Plasma Etch System, Palomar Products Model 2460-V Automatic Thermosonic Wire Bonder, K & S Model 2071 VFP Automatic Wedge Bonder, Asymtek Model 402 Dispensing System, Fisher Scientific Programmable Cure Oven, ATV Model PEO 601 Programmable Brazing Furnace, SST 3150 Vacuum Sealing Furnace. The assembly and packaging resources are supported by inspection and failure analysis equipment including a Phoenix micro-focus x-ray system, Sonix C-mode scanning acoustic microscopy (CSAM) system, WYCO wafer inspection system, Tencor surface profilometer, Brookfield viscometer, Dage PC2400 pull and shear tester, and optical and scanning electron microscopes.

Accelerated Testing Laboratory
Laboratory includes capabilities for imposing various steady-state and cyclic temperature and humidity stresses. Chambers includes 3 Blue-M thermal cycling ovens, two liquid to liquid thermal shock systems, a Ransco air-to-air thermal shock system, two humidity chambers, and an Express Test HAST chamber. (Figure 5)

Material Characterization
Major equipment includes Instron 3367 with several load cells, LVDTs, Blue-Hill Software, micro-scale mechanical testing system, facilities for calibration and application of stress and thermal test chips, and an environmental vibration system, an infrared thermal imaging system, and several custom-built apparatuses for characterizing thermal resistance of materials and assemblies.

Surface Analysis Laboratory
The Surface Science Laboratory includes several Scanning Electronic Microscopes (SEMs) with heating capabilities, and a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Method capabilities include Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Auger Spectroscopy (SAS), and Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS). (Figure 6)

Micro-Fabrication Laboratory
CHA Mark 50 dual E-beam/sputter/ion gun deposition system, plasma reactive ion etcher, Applied Materials 8130 metal etcher, Applied Materials 8110 oxide etcher, Applied Materials 8110 oxide etcher, Matrix 103 asher, Matrix 303 etcher, Karl Suss MA/BA 6 frontside/backside mask aligner, Wet benches, Thermco oxidation and diffusion furnaces, Tempress LPCVD system, nickel and gold plating, STS ASE 100 DRIE, STS AOE 100 DRIE, CO2 critical point dryer, room temperature ion deposition/milling system. (Figure 7)

For advanced MEMS fabrication, the microfabrication facility has an STS ASE 100 for silicon DRIE and an STS AOE 100 for silicon dioxide DRIE. Photographs of the CHA Mark 50 dual E-beam system, the STS ASE 100 and the Karl Suss MA/BA 6 frontside/backside mask aligner are presented in Figure 8.