AA PLASMA LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N211-095

Description

Current aging evaluation methods used in the electronics industry are inherently laborious and time-consuming. Reliability testing techniques typically expose the electronic component to elevated temperatures for a period of time to accelerate the aging mechanism. Aging testing often does not take into account the effects of prolonged exposure to the oxidative environment and to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. We propose to construct a single unit that will offer a tunable, oxidative environment, regulated temperature delivery, and UV. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) can be synthesized by gliding arc discharge (GAD) plasma and introduced onto a target sample. Non-equilibrium plasmas generate RONS that are well-known for their ability to chemically etch materials. This process is similar to that observed by normal aging effects due to long-term exposure to the chemical composition of Earth’s atmosphere. Our team has extensive experience in working with various configurations of gliding arcs for the treatment of air, water, and surfaces. For this project, AAPlasma proposes to develop a gliding arc plasma system that can reliably simulate the aging effects of circuits in order to improve the time demands observed in standard aging evaluation processes. By exposing electronics components to controlled RONS, UV, and elevated temperature we are able to rapidly and precisely simulate a wide range of aging conditions for testing of electronic components. This innovative process is expected to achieve the desired aging effects in under 75% of the currently utilized aging validation process.