On the relationship between semiconductor manufacturing volume, yield, and reliability

Suppliers developing semiconductor technologies for consumer electronics have been operating in a high-volume manner for decades. It is often believed that there is a link between high volume, high yield, and high reliability. A potentially concerning misconception is that low volume manufacturing facilities then cannot achieve high reliability. However, many `high reliability' markets, such as military, medical, and aerospace, source their parts from low-volume manufacturers. In this work, the misconception stated above is discussed and clarified in terms of the definition of reliability, the history of the economic factors that shape the industry, and the engineering practices used to deliver reliability.