AEC - Q004 - Rev-
February 26, 2020
AUTOMOTIVE ZERO DEFECTS
FRAMEWORK
Component Technical Committee
Automotive Electronics Council
AEC - Q004 - Rev-
February 26, 2020
Component Technical Committee
Automotive Electronics Council
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AEC - Q004 - Rev-
February 26, 2020
Component Technical Committee
Automotive Electronics Council
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. SCOPE .................................................................................................................................................. 1
1.1. Purpose ......................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Reference Documents .................................................................................................................... 2
1.3. Definitions and Acronyms ............................................................................................................... 3
1.4. Zero defects and Quality Management ........................................................................................... 6
2. APPLICATION OF THE ZERO DEFECTS FRAMEWORK...................................................................... 6
2.1. General .......................................................................................................................................... 6
2.2. Safe Launch ................................................................................................................................... 7
2.3. Cost Benefit Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 7
3. PRODUCT DESIGN ............................................................................................................................ 10
3.1. Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA) ...................................................................... 10
3.2. Redundancy ................................................................................................................................. 11
3.3. Built-in Self-Test ........................................................................................................................... 12
3.4. Design for Test ............................................................................................................................. 14
3.5. Design for Analysis....................................................................................................................... 16
3.6. Design for Manufacturability ......................................................................................................... 17
3.7. Design for Reliability ..................................................................................................................... 18
3.8. Simulation and Modeling .............................................................................................................. 20
3.9. Characterization ........................................................................................................................... 22
4. MANUFACTURING ............................................................................................................................. 24
4.1. Process Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (PFMEA) ..................................................................... 24
4.2. Statistical Analysis of Variance ..................................................................................................... 25
4.3. Control Plan ................................................................................................................................. 26
4.4. Statistical Process Control ............................................................................................................ 27
4.5. Lot Acceptance Gates .................................................................................................................. 28
4.6. Audits (Management System, Manufacturing Process and Product) ............................................. 29
5. TEST ................................................................................................................................................... 30
5.1. Part Average Testing .................................................................................................................... 30
5.2. Statistical Bin Yield Analysis ......................................................................................................... 31
5.3. Data Collection, Storage and Retrieval ......................................................................................... 32
5.4. Screens........................................................................................................................................ 33
6. APPLICATION AND CAPABILITY ........................................................................................................ 34
6.1. Industry Standards ....................................................................................................................... 34
6.2. Environmental Stress Testing ....................................................................................................... 35
6.3. Stress-Strength Analysis .............................................................................................................. 36
6.4. Systems Engineering ................................................................................................................... 37
6.5. Product Derating .......................................................................................................................... 39
AEC - Q004 - Rev-
February 26, 2020
Page 4 of 49
Component Technical Committee
Automotive Electronics Council
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
7. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT METHODS ....................................................................................... 40
7.1. Wafer Level Process Monitoring ................................................................................................... 40
7.2. Process and Product Improvements ............................................................................................. 41
7.3. Product Reliability Monitoring ....................................................................................................... 42
7.4. Defect Monitoring ......................................................................................................................... 43
8. PROBLEM SOLVING .......................................................................................................................... 45
8.1. Problem Solving Techniques ........................................................................................................ 45
8.2. Failure Analysis Process .............................................................................................................. 46
9. DOCUMENTATION ............................................................................................................................. 48
AEC - Q004 - Rev-
February 26, 2020
Page 5 of 49
Component Technical Committee
Automotive Electronics Council
Acknowledgment
Any document involving a complex technology brings together experience and skills from many sources. The
Automotive Electronics Council would especially like to recognize the following significant contributors to the
revision of this document:
AEC-Q004 Zero Defects Framework Sub-Committee Members:
Prasad Dhond
AMKOR
Bruce Hecht
Analog Devices
James Johnston
Analog Devices
Ashok Alagappan
ANSYS / DfR Solutions
James McLeish
ANSYS / DfR Solutions
David Locker
CCDC-AvMC
Jeff Jarvis
CCDC-AvMC
Carsten Ohlhoff
Continental Automotive
Gary Fisher
Gentex
Michael Brucker
GlobalFoundries
Ludger Kappius [Q004 Sponsor]
Hella
Ulrich Abelein
Infineon Technologies
Ken Berry
Infineon Technologies
Sultan Lilani
Integra Technologies
Ife Hsu
Intel
Banjie Bautista
ISSI
Robert Kinyanjui
John Deere Electronic Solutions, Inc.
David Price
KLA
Jay Rathert
KLA
Colman Byrne
Kostal
Tom Lawler
Lattice Semiconductor
John Grogan
Macronix International
Tom VanDamme
Magna
Wilhelm Binder
Microchip
Melissa Uribe
Micron
Carmen Cotofana
Nexperia
Rene Rongen [Q004 Team Leader]
NXP Semiconductors
Joop Verwijst
NXP Semiconductors
Peter Turlo
ON Semiconductor
Daniel Vanderstraeten
ON Semiconductor
Lakshmi Kari
Qualcomm
Holger Neumann
Sensata Technologies
Jason Engel
Silicon Labs
Bassel Atala
STMicroelectronics
James Williams
Texas Instruments
Arthur Chiang
Vishay
Kun-Fu Chuang
Winbond
