ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND RELIABILITY EVALUATION OF CAPACITORS BY MEANS OF IN-SITU LEAKAGE CURRENT MEASUREMENTS

The in situ leakage current measurement technique is presented for the high-resolution observation of the electrical behaviour of dielectric material systems, e.g. capacitors, at high temperatures. This techniq ue is useful for the electrical characterization of dielectrics during linear heating experiments and/or isothermal steps, Applied to a popu lation of test structures, the in situ leakage current measurement tec hnique is a rapid and powerful tool to assess the reliability and qual ity of dielectric components and assemblies. Results obtained on popul ations of film capacitors and ceramic capacitors are presented. (C) 19 98 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.