Qualification Methodology for Sub-Micron ICs at the Low Noise Underground Laboratory of Rustrel

Alpha contamination has become a major concern in integrated circuits. To qualify packaging solutions for commercial, industrial, and aerospace/defense components, a program is described. The chosen methodology associates the use of real time testing in altitude and underground environments. Experiments are performed on Xilinx field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Goals, experiment design, statistical confidence, initial results are analyzed and discussed.