Trying to understand what are the differences in the job roles for a reliability engineer between different companies such as Intel/AppliedMaterials/Microsoft/Apple. I am not 100% sure about that what QnR folks do at Intel/Applied but I think it is very different from what a hardware reliability engineer does at Microsoft/Apple. Any comments will be helpful. #hardware #semiconductor #microsoft #apple #intel #applied materials#reliability #materialscience#mechanical
OP, you are asking about the difference between Wafer Level Reliability (or Device Level Reliability) vs. Product/Module Level Reliability. Semiconductor fabs including Intel primarily work with WLR, where as firms such as Microsoft/Apple are concerned with Product/Module Level Reliability. I think if you google those terms you should have your answer
At Intel or Fabs you are primarily interested in the failure mechanisms related to things like TDDB, HCI, EM, BTI, and the main goal is to extrapolate some sort of lifetime projection based on the operating conditions (temperature, voltage) - things you would find on WLR report. At Apple or Microsoft, it extends beyond the device/transistor. Package is a big part. FA is performed starting from the package, and there are a lot of moving parts from a system-level reliabilty POV - enclosure, display, touch, camera, PCB, etc. You’re working with consumer electronics standards such as JEDEC JESD78. Key statistics you look at is Failures-in-Time. Tests you may run are things like drop test, THS, temp shock/cycle, and ESD...etc.
That's quite informative. Thanks for the reply. I want to make a switch to Microsoft but was thinking if I could rake in the experience from Intel (if I were to move to a reliability role). But from what you are telling me and what I have understood online Intel's reliability experience is not relevant to Microsoft.
It’s not a carbon copy. But I think many of the knowledge and skills will be applicable. Statistics. Sampling. Analytical tools such as FMEA.
Best way to understand is to connect with folks who moved from Intel etc to reliability jobs in Apple, MS, google etc. Call them and ask questions..