1 Qualification by Similarity (Qualification Family)

A new device can be qualified either by performing full scale quality and reliability tests on the actual device or using previously qualified devices through Qualification by Similarity (QBS) rules. By establishing similarity between the new device and those qualified previously, repetitive tests can be eliminated, allowing for timely production release.

When adopting QBS methodology, the emphasis is on qualifying the differences between a previously qualified product and the new product under consideration. The QBS rules for a technology, product, test parameters or package shall define which attributes are required to remain fixed for the QBS rules to apply.

The attributes which are expected and allowed to vary are reviewed and a QBS plan shall be developed, based on the reliability impact assessment above, specifying what subset of the full complement of environmental stresses is required to evaluate the reliability impact of those variations.

Each new device shall be reviewed for conformance to the QBS rule sets applicable to that device. See JEDEC JESD47 for more information. For additional information or technical support please contact the Texas Instruments Customer Support Center at www.ti.com/csc. For more information on TI Enhanced Products, please visit www.ti.com/ep.