Product Description
Electronic parts derating refers to the practice of limiting thermal, electrical, and/or mechanical stresses on electronic and electromechanical components to levels below the manufacturer’s specified ratings. Stresses “accelerate” natural failure modes of components; by reducing stresses, the acceleration of failure modes is also reduced, enhancing the reliability of devices. Derating should be applied early in the design process and can be accomplished in several ways including component selection, and/or design techniques that can limit, or compensate for, stresses. When derating is applied across-the-board to all components in a system, the reliability of system can be enhanced.
The reliability achieved by electronic systems is dependent upon proper selection and application of the electrical and electronic parts used in the design. A critical system that that must operate reliably for extended periods with little or no maintenance, or is subjected to extreme environmental conditions, must incorporate a conservative design approach, implementing aggressive yet realistic derating of electronic and electromechanical parts. On the other hand, a less critical system, such as a commercial product used in a controlled benign environment such as in an office, usually requires less stringent derating.
The Electronic Derating for Optimum Component Reliability: Calculator from Quanterion Solutions Incorporated fully implements the “Electronic Derating for Optimum Component Reliability: Second Edition Handbook.” The purpose of this calculator is to establish a modern electronic component derating guideline and analysis information related to the reliable application of the components in electronic equipment.
This calculator also implements the derating guidelines listed in the corresponding handbook for new technologies and technologies not previously explicitly addressed, such as:
- MnO2 capacitors
- VHSLI (high density small geometry) microcircuits
- GaN microcircuits
- MMICs
- Laser opto-electronic devices
- Pin photo diodes
- Patch-cord (jacketed) fiber optic cables
- Solid state relays
- DIP, snap dome and conductive rubber switches
- IGBTs
- GaN transistors
