Martine Simard-Normandin, MuAnalysis
Light emitting diodes are sturdy devices with promised lifetimes of 25,000 to 50,000 hours. Yet often they fail. Like any other semiconductor diodes, LEDs are mounted in packages, soldered to boards and driven by external circuitry. Where is the weakest link? In this presentation we will show real-life examples of LED failures and for each case, discuss the failure location, failure mode and root-cause of the failure.
Dr. Simard-Normandin has over 30 years experience in microelectronics, specializing in semiconductor device physics, reverse engineering and electrical and material characterization. She has authored or co-authored more than 50 scientific journal and conference papers on microanalysis. Dr. Simard-Normandin holds a B.Sc. in physics from the University de Montreal, a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Toronto. She was awarded an Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowship from the American Physical Society, focusing on microelectronics, and recently the prestigious Medal of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the University de Montreal. Dr. Simard-Normandin has held the positions of Manager - Materials and Device Analysis at STMicroelectronics' Centre for Microanalysis and Manager of Materials and Structures Analysis at Nortel Networks. In 2002 she founded MuAnalysis Inc., a privately-owned Canadian company offering expertise in failure analysis, materials analysis and reliability testing.