# Components



Through component failure analysis and failure analysis performed on other levels, we can identify the problem area. Was the failure caused by an application problem? A design problem? A process problem? A mechanical problem? Materials incompatibility? A quality issue associated with component manufacturing? Or is the failure an end of life wear-out mechanism? These are questions we answer through failure analysis and component failure analysis.

Gideon Labs performs failure analysis on discrete electrical components: capacitors (film, tantalum, electrolytic, ceramic, disc, polarized, ac, dc, etc.), relays (solid-state, mechanical, electromechanical, mercury, current, blind, track) PWB (contamination, ions, IPC 650, cross-sections, tin migration, PTH opens), transformers (power, isolation, current, voltage, signal, flyback, oil, pulse, step up and down, high and low voltage, high frequency), resistors, fans, cable, connectors, and semiconductors (diodes, FETs, PWMs, oscillators, thyristors, SCRs, rectifiers, interconnect and packaging problems, etc). The component list is unduly long to mention all the components we have analyzed.

## Relays

* Solid State
* AC
* Track
* Reed
* Mercury
* DC
* Electromechanical
* Timer
* Current
* Blind
* Voltage
* Open Latching

## Capacitors

* Tantalums
* Polarized
* High Frequency
* Bypass
* Surge
* Electrolytics
* Coupling
* High Voltage
* Non-polarized
* AC and DC
* Film
* Oil
* Trimmer
* Surface Mount
* Metal Film
* Ceramic
* Pulse
* Wet Tantalum
* Snubber
* Doublers

## Capacitor Reliability and Measurement

* Electrical Capacitance vs. voltage
* Forming Voltage
* Crystallization
* Capacitance
* ESR
* Staining
* Chemical and thermal conversion efficiency
* IR
* Polarization determination

## Single Crystal Oscillators

* Frequency range
* Point defects
* Package defects
* Faults
* Line defects
* Lattice defects
* Milling defects
* Pierce
* Clapp

## Converters

* 3 phase bridge rectifiers
* Dielectric constants
* Construction
* DC to DC
* Solder fatigue
* Failure analysis
* AC to DC
* Reliability issues
* Insulation resistance

## Magnetics

* Inductors
* Crystallography using X-Ray Diffraction
* High pot testing to Underwriters Laboratories (UL) specifications
* Power and pulse transformers
* Collapsing characteristics of different ferrite materials
* Delay lines (magnetic and sonic)
* Qualification of ferrite core
* 50 and 60 cycles/sec

## CRT Testing

* Phosphor evaluations
* Decay times
* Size
* Texture
* Crystallography
* Chemical identification

## Resistors

* Thin Film
* Carbon
* Snubber
* Thick film
* Ceramic
* Potentiometers
* Fusible
* Evaporated
* Wire wound

## Fans

* Testing
* Greases identified
* Materials Identification
* Motor longevity
* Bearing seals
* High reliability

## Wires

* Bulk wire
* Ribbon cable
* Flat cable
* AC Line cords
* Line cords
* Harmonized AC line cords for international applications

## Semiconductors

* FETs(MOSFETs, JFETs)
* Bridges rectifiers
* Transistors (Mesa, planar, BP, IGBT)
* Comparators
* Thermistor
* Rectifiers
* Pulse width modulators (PWMs)
* Diodes (silicon, germanium, zener, Schottky)
* Optocouplers, photodiode, phototransistors
* Thyristors
* SCRs
* Voltage regulators
* Hall sensors
* EOS/ESD
* Monolithic