On July 1st, Toshiba Corporation's Semiconductor Company and Storage Products Company consolidated to form Semiconductor & Storage Products Company.This page describes reliability information of semiconductor products.

General Usage Considerations

[As of April, 2011]

From Incoming to Shipping

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)

When handling individual devices, be sure that the environment is protected against static electricity. Operators should wear anti-static clothing. In addition, containers and other objects that come in direct contact with devices should be made of materials that do not produce static electricity that would cause damage.
Please follow the precautions below. This is particularly important for those devices marked "Be careful of ESDS*."

*: ElectroStatic Discharge Sensitive devices

Work Environment Control

When humidity decreases, static electricity readily occurs due to friction. Taking into consideration the fact that moisture-proof-packed products absorb moisture after unpacking, the relative humidity keeps at 40 to 70%.
Be sure that all equipment such as jigs and tools installed in the work area are grounded.
Place a conductive mat over the floor of the work area or take other measure to ensure that the floor is protected against static electricity and is grounded to the earth. (Resistance between the floor surface and ground: 1 x 10⁹Ω or less)
Place a conductive mat over the surface of worktables to ensure that the tables are grounded. (Resistance between surface and ground: 7.5 x 10⁵ to 1 x 10⁹Ω) Do not construct worktable surfaces of metallic materials. Metallic materials are low in resistance, allowing rapid discharge when a charged device comes in contact with them directly.
Observe the following when using automated equipment:
1. When picking up a device with a vacuum, use conductive rubber in sections which come into contact with the device surface to protect against electrostatic charge.
2. Avoid friction on the device surface to the extent possible. If rubbing is unavoidable due to the device’s mechanical structure, minimize the friction plane or use material with a small friction coefficient and low electrical resistance. Also, prevent electrostatic charge by using an ionizer.
3. Use a material which dissipates static electricity in sections which come in contact with device leads or terminals.
4. Ensure that no statically charged bodies (such as work clothes or the human body) come in contact with the devices.
5. Use a tape carrier that employs a low-resistance material on sections that come in contact with electrical machinery.
6. Make sure that jigs and tools used in the manufacturing process do not touch the devices.
7. In processing associated with package electrostatic charge, use an ionizer to neutralize the ions in the ambient environment.
Make sure that CRT displays in the work area are protected against static charge by employing a filter, for example. Avoid turning displays on and off to the extent possible. Neglecting to do so can cause electrostatic induction in devices.
Periodically measure the charged potential of devices, systems and fixtures located in the work area to ensure that the area is free of any charge.
Ensure that the work chairs are protected by a conductive cover and grounded to the floor by conductive castors. (Resistance between seat surface and ground: 1 x 10¹⁰Ω or less)
Install anti-static mats on storage shelf surfaces and ground the mat surface. (Resistance between surface and ground: 7.5 x 10⁵ to 1 x 10⁹Ω)
For device transport and temporary storage, use containers (boxes, jigs or bags) that are made of a material which does not produce static electricity that could damage the device.
Make sure that cart surfaces which come in contact with product packaging are made of materials which conduct static electricity, and ground the cart surfaces to the floor surface using conductive castors.
In static electricity control areas, install anti-static dedicated ground wires. Use a transmission line circuit ground wire [Type D (previous Class C) or above], or a trunk line ground wire. In addition, separate and ground the various devices individually.

Work Environment Control

Operators must wear anti-static clothing and conductive shoes (or a toe or heal strap).
Operators must wear a wrist strap grounded to earth via a resistor. (Resistance between surface and earth when worn: 7.5 x 10⁵ to 3.5 x 10⁷Ω)
Soldering irons must be grounded from the iron tip to earth, and must be used at low voltages (6 to 24V).
If the tweezers you use are likely to touch the device terminals, use anti-static tweezers. Do not use metallic tweezers since they are low in resistance and may cause rapid discharge when a charged device comes in contact with them. When using a vacuum tweezers, attach a conductive chucking pat to the tip, and connect it to a dedicated anti-static ground. In addition, follow the manufacturer’s methods of use and maintenance.
Do not place devices or their containers near sources of strong electrical fields (such as above a CRT).
Place boards with mounted devices in anti-static board containers separated from one another, and do not stack them directly on top of one another. Stacking them directly on top of one another may cause frictional charge or discharge.
Ensure, to the extent possible, that any articles (such as clipboards) which are brought to a static electricity control area are constructed of anti-static materials.
When the human body is to come in direct contact with a device, wear anti-static finger covers or gloves.
The material of equipment safety covers located near devices should have a resistance rating of 1 x 10⁹Ω or less.
If a wrist strap cannot be used and there is a possibility of imparting friction to devices, use an ionizer.
The transport film used in tape carrier products is manufactured from materials in which static electricity readily builds up. When using these products, use an ionizer to prevent the film from being charged. Also, to ensure than no static electricity will be applied to the copper foil area, take measures to prevent electrostatic discharge failure of peripheral equipment.

Vibration, Impact and Stress

Handle devices and packaging with care. Dropping or applying impact to devices or packaging causes device damage. Ensure that devices and packaging are not subjected to mechanical vibration or impact to the extent possible. Hollow canister-type devices and ceramic sealed devices contain unsecured wires, making them more susceptible to vibration and impact than plastic sealed devices.

When a location such as a soldered area, connecting area or top surface of a device is subjected to vibration, impact or stress in actual equipment, bonding fault or device destruction may result. Therefore, be sure to keep this in mind at the time of structural design. If a device is subject to especially strong vibration, impact or stress, the package or chip may crack. If stress is applied to a semiconductor chip through the package, changes in the resistance of the chip may result due to piezoelectric effects, resulting in fluctuation in element characteristics. Furthermore, if a stress that does not instantly result in damage is applied continually for a long period of time, product deformation may result, causing defects such as disconnection or element failure. Thus, at the time of structural design, carefully consider vibration, impact and stress.