Test Overview
HAST (Highly Accelerated Stress Test) is widely used for accelerated aging life testing of products in industries such as IC semiconductors, connectors, printed circuit boards, magnetic materials, polymer materials, EVA and PV modules. The purpose of accelerated life testing is to increase the environmental stress (e.g. temperature) and the operating stress (voltage, load, etc. applied to the product) to accelerate the test process and shorten the life testing time of the product or system. It is used to investigate and analyze when wear and service life problems occur in electronic components and mechanical parts, what shape the failure distribution function of the service life takes, and to analyze the causes of the increasing failure rate.
HAST Test Purpose
To increase the environmental stress (e.g. temperature) and the operating stress (voltage, load, etc. applied to the product), accelerate the test process and shorten the life testing time of the product or system, the test time required to determine the quality of finished products also increases considerably. HAST is therefore used to improve test efficiency and reduce test time.
Application Scope
HAST (Highly Accelerated Stress Test) is mainly used to evaluate the reliability of products or materials in humid environments. It is performed by setting and creating combinations of temperature, humidity and pressure inside a highly controlled pressure vessel; these conditions accelerate the penetration of moisture through the external protective plastic packaging and apply these stress conditions to the die/device. HAST has become a standard in certain industries, especially semiconductors, solar energy and other industries, as a fast and effective alternative to standard temperature-humidity bias testing (85℃/85%RH — 1000 hours).
HAST Test Categories
1. Low temperature step stress test
2. High temperature step stress test
3. Rapid thermal cycling test
4. Vibration step stress test
5. Combined stress test
6. Operating stress test
Reference Standards
IEC 60068-2-66:1994 Environmental testing - Part 2: Test methods - Test Cx: Damp heat, steady state (unsaturated pressurized vapour)
GB/T 2423.40-2013 Environmental testing for electric and electronic products, Part 2: Test methods, Test Cx: Damp heat, steady state (unsaturated pressurized vapour)