AEC-Q certification: the entry threshold for automotive electronics

In 1994 Chrysler, Ford and General Motors established the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) to create a common set of part qualification and quality system standards. Components that comply with AEC specifications can be adopted by all three vehicle manufacturers at the same time. This drove the standardisation of automotive parts and laid the foundation for the rapid growth of the automotive electronics market. AEC membership now spans the world's major vehicle makers, automotive electronics companies and semiconductor manufacturers, and AEC-Q is the automotive reliability test standard issued by the AEC.

AEC-Q standards are now widely recognised and adopted across the automotive industry. Companies that obtain AEC-Q certification gain an advantage in an increasingly competitive market and succeed in entering the supply chains of vehicle manufacturers and tier one suppliers.

Automotive electronic component suppliers must carry out the relevant AEC-Q qualification on their products and provide the data for review by the component user. Before starting AEC-Q validation, the supplier must also fully understand the user's mission profile.

AEC-Q standards and applicable products

Frequently asked questions about AEC-Q100

1. What preparation is needed before a chip enters AEC-Q100 testing?

The following information must be confirmed:

Wire bonding and its material. AEC-Q100 contains tests related to wire bonding, such as WBS and WBP. Whether the automotive chip contains wire bonding determines whether these tests must be performed. The bonding material also matters: gold wire follows AEC-Q100, while copper wire (including copper containing alloys) adds the requirements of AEC-Q006 on top of AEC-Q100.

Application grade. Automotive chips are graded by the ambient temperature of their application, from grade 0 (highest) to grade 3 (lowest). The grade determines the specific test conditions used during qualification.

Moisture sensitivity level (MSL). The MSL should follow JESD22-A113 and J-STD-020. The minimum requirement for automotive chips is MSL 3.

2. Does every chip have to pass all AEC-Q100 test items?

AEC-Q100 qualification contains many test items, but not every chip needs all of them. Some items are tailored to specific device types:

· B3 EDR applies only to non-volatile memory chips or chips containing a non-volatile memory block
· C5 SBS applies only to BGA packages
· E10 SC applies only to smart power management chips
· E11 SER applies only to SRAM and DRAM of 1 Mbit and above
· Group G applies only to products with a cavity package

3. How do you decide whether a chip needs power temperature cycling (PTC)?

PTC targets chips whose power dissipation repeatedly changes by 1 W or more in the intended application, with a power rise time below 0.1 s, causing a junction temperature change of 40℃ or more. Smart power switches driving inductive loads are a typical example.

4. Which tests require hardware or fixture fabrication?

The main items in AEC-Q100 that require hardware or fixture fabrication are THB/HAST, PTC, HTOL, ELFR, EDR, ESD, EMC, MS and VFV.

5. What are the requirements for electrostatic discharge (ESD) and latch-up (LU) testing?

ESD testing covers the human body model (HBM) and the charged device model (CDM), with different voltage requirements for different chip types and frequencies. LU testing applies overvoltage stress to signal pins and power pins.

6. Does every product in a family need full AEC-Q100 qualification?

No. AEC-Q100 provides guidance on generic data use, allowing other products in a family to be qualified by correlation once a representative product has completed qualification, with the exception of ESD, LU and ED. Only the additional tests required by the differences between each product and the representative product need to be performed, following AEC-Q100 Table 3.

AEC-Q100 test flow

The following section introduces the AEC-Q100 test flow and the principle behind each test item, so that readers understand what each item assesses and its general principle. Detailed test specifications and methods are not covered here.

As the test flow shows, AEC-Q100 test items fall into seven groups, A to G. Each group has a different focus, covering everything from wafer level to the packaged product.

Group E test items

Group D test items

Group C test items

Group F test items

Group A test items

Group B test items

Group G test items

How is a chip change validated against AEC-Q100?

AEC-Q100 is one of the standards issued by the Automotive Electronics Council for quality qualification of automotive electronic components. When an automotive chip is changed, the required tests must be performed according to AEC-Q100 section 3.2.2 to confirm that the changed chip still meets automotive requirements.

Change validation flow

Taking a new package under ASSEMBLY as an example, the standard requires the following 22 items to be tested and passed, selected according to the chip parameters, to demonstrate that the chip meets automotive qualification requirements:

Group A (including PC): THB, AC, TC, PTC, HTSL
Group B: HTOL, ELFR
Group C: WBS, WBP, SD, PD, SBS, LI
Group E: HBM, CDM, ED, SC, LF
Group G: MECH, DS, IWV

If the change is limited to the top marking, only SD in group C needs to be added. For other changes, taking wire bonding under ASSEMBLY as an example, the following items must be added:

Group A (including PC): THB, AC, TC, PTC, HTSL
Group C: WBS, WBP
Group E: ED, SC, LF
Group G: MECH

Summary. The basic principle of change validation is to identify precisely what has changed, then use the AEC-Q100 test tables to select the additional tests required and perform them. Only when all selected tests pass can the new sample be shown to meet automotive qualification.

NTEK chip testing capability and overall AEC-Q100 requirements

About NTEK

NTEK Group was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Shenzhen. The group provides quality research and technical services covering R&D verification, inspection and testing, failure analysis, simulation and market access for intelligent connected vehicles, electronic communications and new energy.

NTEK has extensive experience in automotive-grade electronic certification and has helped more than 100 companies pass AEC-Q series certification, confirming the quality and reliability of each chip case against AEC-Q100.

Driven by the need of vehicle makers to localise automotive-grade chips and supported by the domestic semiconductor industry, NTEK provides comprehensive testing and certification services, applying AEC-Q100 automotive standards to control the safety and quality of automotive chips, supporting the growth of domestic automotive-grade chips and adding new momentum to the intelligent vehicle safety system.