There are multiple considerations that need to be accounted for when developing reliable semiconductor devices: Design factors affecting semiconductor reliability include: voltage, power, and current derating; metastability; logic timing margins (logic simulation); timing analysis; temperature derating; and process control.
[1] Parts Average Testing is a statistical method for recognizing and quarantining semiconductor die that have a higher probability of reliability failures.
This technique identifies characteristics that are within specification but outside of a normal distribution for that population as at-risk outliers not suitable for high reliability applications.
Inline Parts Average Testing (I-PAT) uses data from production process control inspection and metrology to perform the outlier recognition function.
Non destructive tests are normally used when extreme reliability is required such as in military or aerospace applications.