The leading event for the microelectronics failure analysis community returns to San Jose to help engineers and technicians identify defects that are costing manufacturers millions of dollars in failed components, repairs and replacements.
The 35th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA) will be held Nov. 15-19 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose. The event is organized by the Electronic Device Failure Analysis Society (EDFAS), an affiliate society of ASM International, the materials information society.
"It's all about resolution, which is the theme of our 2009 event," said general chair Nicholas Antoniou, principal engineer at Harvard University's Center for Nanoscale Systems. "Through our technical symposia, user groups, educational opportunities and exposition we're making it possible for engineers and techs to identify and resolve their micro failure analysis problems"
The ISTFA organizers have developed a program packed with useful information and networking opportunities for the ISTFA audience. A new session on Photovoltaic Failure Analysis will provide valuable insights from an international perspective.
"We have prepared 40 hours of tutorial sessions, accepted 64 abstracts for publication and have dozens of companies signed up for our exposition, the largest equipment show in our industry," Antoniou said. A panel discussion on the future of the FA engineer will also be held.
Dr. Luis Prieto-Portar, the structural engineer for the construction of the World Trade Center in New York, will present a keynote on the failure analysis of the Twin Towers, from his involvement in their construction to the causes of their tragic collapse.
Educational short courses will also be held. Topics include Fault Isolation, FIB Sample Preparation for Failure Analysis, Finance and Management of Failure Analysis (Principles and Applications), and Failure Analysis of Photovoltaic Devices.
For more information about ISTFA 2009, visit www.asminternational.org/istfa.
While failure analysis is a critical element of the electronics industry, it's also a diverse combination of electronics and materials analysis. Because no existing society was suited to meet the specific needs of our technical community, scientists and engineers who perform failure analysis on electronic devices formed the Electronic Device Failure Analysis Society in 1998. For more information about EDFAS, visit www.edfas.org.