We all expect semiconductors to work reliably in the harshest environments with device failures kept to an absolute minimum. But problems inevitably arise—and from an environmental perspective, temperature is the primary reason for most semiconductor field failures.
Thus, thermal design and analysis are critical to improving component reliability, with higher temperatures generally reducing component life. This can be due to a harsh operating environment without adequate system-level protection, which in turn can result from an incomplete understanding of the thermal aspects of semiconductor devices, packaging, layout, and heatsinking. In addition, it can be difficult to make thermal measurements on RF devices at the design-verification stage.