What is AEC-Q100 Certification?

AEC-Q100 is a set of stress testing standards designed specifically for automotive application integrated circuit products. This specification is critical for enhancing product reliability and quality assurance.

AEC-Q100 is the first standard of the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC), established by the AEC in the United States. First published in June 1994, AEC-Q100 has evolved over more than a decade and has become the universal standard for automotive electronic systems.

For automotive electronic components, AEC-Q100 is the most commonly applied stress test (Stress Test) certification standard. If the required test results for all key points are successfully met, suppliers can claim that their parts have passed AEC-Q100 certification. Suppliers may negotiate with customers to relax certification conditions or sample size compared to document requirements, but only when the required conditions are met can the parts be considered AEC-Q100 certified.

AEC-Q100 aims to prevent potential failures by rigorously verifying the quality and reliability of each chip, particularly through standard testing of product functionality and performance.

As an essential component of automotive electronics, ICs are a key focus area for the AEC. AEC-Q100’s reliability testing for ICs can be broken down into accelerated environmental stress reliability, accelerated life simulation reliability, packaging reliability, wafer process reliability, electrical parameter verification, defect screening, and package integrity tests, with test conditions selected based on the temperature grade the device can withstand.

The JJR Laboratory in China can assess customers' ICs based on their requirements, offer reasonable AEC-Q100 certification solutions, and assist in the reliability certification of ICs. Below is a detailed introduction to the AEC-Q100 certification services.

Applicable Products for AEC-Q100 Certification

Automotive electronic components requiring AEC-Q100 certification include:

- Automotive disposable memory

- Power step-down regulators

- Automotive optocouplers

- Three-axis accelerometer sensors

- Video decoders

- Rectifiers

- Ambient light sensors

- Non-volatile ferroelectric memory

- Power management ICs

- Embedded flash memory

- DC/DC regulators

- Automotive network communication equipment

- LCD driver ICs

- Single-supply differential amplifiers

- Capacitive proximity switches

- High-brightness LED drivers

- Asynchronous switches

- 600V ICs

- GPS ICs

- ADAS driver assistance system chips

- GNSS receivers

- GNSS frontend amplifiers, etc.

AEC-Q100 Certification Test Items

- Test Group A: Accelerated Environmental Stress Tests (for chip products)  

- Test Group B: Accelerated Lifetime Simulation Tests (for chip products/IP/process libraries)  

- Test Group C: Package Assembly Integrity Tests (for chip products)  

- Test Group D: Process Reliability Tests (for foundries)  

- Test Group E: Electrical Reliability Tests (for chip products/IO libraries)  

- Test Group F: Defect Screening Tests (for chip products)  

- Test Group G: Post-Packaging Package Integrity Tests (for chip products)  

Each test group is further defined with specific test items, and the testing standards reference semiconductor industry certifications (such as JEDEC, MIL-STD-883, SAE, or AEC-Q100 itself as defined in its annexes). For each test item, the number of samples per batch, test batch quantity, and acceptance criteria are specified, with additional specifications provided as needed.

AEC-Q100 Certification Test Verification Process

1. Design House  

Functional tests before and after reliability testing are carried out, which requires coordination between the IC design company and the testing facility. The primary difference from standard IC verification lies in the temperature settings for the functional tests.  

2. Wafer Foundry  

Test Group D focuses on wafer-level reliability verification at the wafer foundry. Fabless IC manufacturers must collaborate with their contracted wafer foundries to obtain relevant data.  

3. Reliability Test  

AEC divides reliability testing into:  

- Test Group A: Accelerated Environmental Stress Tests  

- Test Group B: Accelerated Lifetime Simulation  

- Test Group C: Package Integrity Tests  

- Test Group E: Electrical Verification Tests  

- Test Group G: Cavity/Sealed Package Integrity Tests  

Why Choose JJR Testing Laboratory in China?

1. Brand Trust  

Established in 1998, JJR is a high-tech enterprise accredited by CNAS and CMA in China, and a national public technology service platform for small and medium-sized enterprises.

2. Multiple Certifications  

JJR is recognized by multiple domestic and international institutions, with comprehensive qualifications, and testing reports with global credibility.

3. International Standards  

The laboratory operates according to international standards ISO/IEC 17025 and meets more than ten international and domestic standards.

4. Service Assurance  

JJR offers efficient, one-stop testing and certification services, with comprehensive experimental plans trusted by numerous well-known domestic and international enterprises.