1. Purpose and scope
Functional correctness is not enough. A part must keep working over its lifetime under the temperature, voltage, humidity, mechanical and electrical stress of its market. Qualification provides that evidence through accelerated stress tests on parts that represent production, chosen according to the standards of the target market, for example JEDEC JESD47 for general products or AEC-Q100 for automotive integrated circuits.
The stage starts at the Qualification start gate, when parts built on the intended production flow enter testing. On the chip track it closes at the Qualification passed gate, when the stress tests have passed to the chosen standard, the production test program is released and every qualification failure is closed or dispositioned. It ends at production release, a decision owned by the Product lifecycle, when the part is released for volume orders together with its datasheet, production test program and software release.
Scope includes the qualification plan and its rationale, the build and traceability of qualification samples, the stress tests and their read points, failure analysis of any failures, and the release package that lets the part be sold in volume.
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