Guidelines for Returns(SPRAC01A – SEPTEMBER 2017)

Introduction
Texas Instruments (TI) strives to provide quality products and is continuously improving products,processes and services.
To enable an efficient and effective quality review process, and to avoid unnecessary false failures, itis critical that TI understand the customer’s alleged issue with a suspect TI part, separate from theany application issue that the customer may be experiencing. It is equally crucial that the suspect TI
part not incur damage during removal, handling, or shipping.
In this document, TI has combined established guidelines and best practices describing verificationand handling processes targeted to achieve this objective.
Nothing in these guidelines gives rise to any obligation on the part of TI to conduct verification oranalysis. See TI’s Terms of Sale.

Handling Overview
These following guidelines must be followed when suspect parts are being returned to TI:• Verify and confirm the issue• Carefully de-solder the part from the PCB/board• Return parts free of mechanical damage and in a testable condition• Ensure that there is no obvious electrical overstress (EOS) damage• Affix and return the part in a proper container• Pack the part in a shielding (S) bag or container for return shipment• Include a detailed description of the alleged issue with the TI part

Failure to observe these guidelines may cause technical issues and and/or render a proper quality
review impossible. TI reserves the right to reject requests for review, verification, or analysis if acustomer is unable to demonstrate compliance with these guidelines.

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Handling Process Requirements

Verify and confirm the issue

Only return suspect TI parts that have been tested through by A-B-A swap cross check to confirm
the observed issue is not system related.
A-B-A Swap Method:
To perform the A-B-A swap:(A) Remove the suspect TI part (A) from the original failing board.
(B) Replace the suspect TI part (A) with a known good TI part (B) and check if the original failingboard is now working correctly.
(A) Mount the suspect TI part (A) to a known good board and see if the observed issue
continues to occur.
The last step is critical to exclude the possibility that the issue is caused by an interaction withanother part on the board.

ABsuspect TI partknown good TI part

failing board

known good board

Carefully de-solder the part from the PCB/board

All suspect TI parts returned for TI verification and analysis must be carefully removed from thecustomer printed circuit board (PCB) prior to shipping.
TI will advise customers in advance in rare cases were a complete PCB with the TI part(s) mounted
is required!
De-Soldering:
The plastic mold compound of the part package is soaking humidity to some extent. Therefore, all TIparts, including MSL1 classified TI parts, must be dry-baked according to IPC/JEDEC J-STD-033
before de-soldering.
Manual de-soldering of any electronic part is not recommended. Instead, use a rework station
allowing control of the soldering temperature according to the JEDEC soldering profile.
Uncontrolled de-soldering may damage the part and induce, e.g., plastic package delamination andpopcorning effect.
Do not cut off the pins / leads from the TI part, as that will prevent any further electrical testing.
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Guidelines for Customer Return Handling (SPRAC01A – SEPTEMBER 2017)

Note on best practice: An application report “Surface Mount Package Removal Application Note" has been published(slva439a) on our website: http://focus.ti.com/lit/an/slva439a/slva439a.pdf.

de-soldered TI partcustomer board with TI part mounted

Fresh / Virgin Parts:
Do not return fresh/virgin TI parts unless explicitly requested to do so by TI. There might be specialcases where TI would like to get back fresh/virgin TI parts, such as:solderability issues
generic tape & reel, tray ortube related issues
reel cover tape issues



fresh / virgin units within a tape & reel stripeReturn parts free of mechanical damage and in a testable condition

Suspect parts must be carefully removed and appropriately handled to allow for a proper root cause
analysis.
Unacceptable / untestable conditions such as:mechanical damages to the part package,remainder of coating material,
cut-off / broken or bent leads / pins, orexcessive solder residues in-between the leads / pins

are in most cases a result of inappropriate part handling. TI may reject the analysis of such parts andlabel them as“NAC - non-actionable cases.”
Below are examples of customer returns that were received in an unacceptable condition. TI does
not to accept such parts for verification / analysis because the original issue may be masked.
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Guidelines for Customer Return Handling (SPRAC01A – SEPTEMBER 2017)

To improve the effective quality analysis, TI focuses on verification / analysis of returns that can givevalue to our customers and TI as part of TI’s Lean Six Sigma methodology.

heavily bent leads/pins

2)

missing leads / pins2)

covered with lacquer, silicone or coating @ package and/or pins

1)

excessive solder residues resulting in bridging neighboring pins / leads

severe package defects & cut-off pins / leads

2)

2)

1)

Unfortunately just ultrasonic cleaning using acetone in most cases cannot remove the coating. It’s up on thecustomer to deliver the unit in testable condition, since TI will not be in the position to clean the parts.
2)

Mechanical damage will disqualify the parts from further TI verification & analysis. (e.g. performing a re-test using
automated test equipment (ATE)).
Note: BGA TI parts must be re-balled adequately. This is needed for the customer A-B-A swap exercise.

Ensure that there is no obvious electrical overstress (EOS) damage

In cases where the issue seems to be induced by electrical overstress (EOS) with visible signs ofdamages, a TI failure analysis will have a limited chance to find the true root cause.
An analysis of such parts (examples shown next page) will only be able to illustrate eventuallymelted metallization lines inside the Die, fused open bond wires or combinations of it.
Heavy EOS damage masks the issue. TI is not in a position to know the customer’s operating,environmental and temperature conditions at the time of the issue to determine what may havecaused the EOS damage. There is no useful action TI can take in such cases.

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Guidelines for Customer Return Handling (SPRAC01A – SEPTEMBER 2017)

burnt package

carbonized mold compoundAffix and return the part in a proper container

When returning a suspect TI part for analysis, always:
 Select a suitable shielding (S) shipping container, and Fix parts properly to prevent them from moving around or touching one another.
The following methods should not be used to ship or fix the TI parts:“Blue tape” end plug @ tubes

parts in tray not fixed

sticky polymer film tape (e.g. std. 3M, Scotch or TESA tape) used to fix parts

part wrapped in paper or into a styrofoam /foam

multiple unit loose in bag-5-3)

Guidelines for Customer Return Handling (SPRAC01A – SEPTEMBER 2017)3)

The TI Freising Device Analysis Lab (FDAO) checked the charging of submitted parts after pulling a TI part from apolymer film tape with an electro-field meter and measured a voltage >1kV. Thus the origin electrical issue can bemasked by damages due to improper ESD protection.

part fixed with polymer film tape inside a conductive box

Pack the part in a shielding (S) bag or container for return shipment

Electronic parts must be handled, packed and shipped appropriately. Shipments might go throughrough uncontrolled areas and might be exposed to high electrical fields, for example, when ashipment is inspected by customs or when the shipment is exposed to high electrical fields fromconveyor belt motor drives in logistic centers.
Consequently, electronic parts that are not packed in shielding (S) bags / containers can be easily
damaged directly (direct discharge) or indirectly (electromagnetic pulse) by external electro static
discharge (ESD) during shipment.
The following specific ESD standards for the packing of semiconductors must be applied: Inside ESD Protected Area (EPA*):
Packing used within an EPA shall consist of dissipative (“pink poly” bags) or conductive (“black”bags or boxes) material for intimate contact to the electronic part.
o dissipative (D) “pink poly” bags (105 <= Rs <= 1011) or conductive (C) “black” bags orboxes (102 <= Rs <= 105) material for intimate contact
 Outside ESD Protected Area (EPA*),Thus packing used outside an EPA shall require packing that provides both:o dissipative (D) “pink poly” bags (105 <= Rs <= 1011) or conductive (C) “black” bags orboxes (102 <= Rs <= 105) material for intimate contacto electrostatic discharge shielding (S) (E < 50nJ)*EPA = ESD Protected Area

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Guidelines for Customer Return Handling (SPRAC01A – SEPTEMBER 2017)

ESD-safe Packaging for Shipments:
Always use packing material that provides shielding (S) protection as illustrated below.

various examples of shielding bags and boxes

Although dissipative (D) “pink / green / blue” or conductive (C) “black” bags or containers provide
protection against tribocharging, they do not protect against electric fields. These bags (examplesillustrated above) can only be used within an ESD protected area (EPA*)!
Do not use standard plastic (PE-LD) bags or containers for shipments as these bags may charge up
the parts inside.
Improper Packaging for Shipments:

plastic (PE-LD) bag4)

dissipative (D) “pink / green / blue” or conductive (C) “black” bags

If these types of packaging are used, the original issue may be masked by external ESD damage.
Failure analysis of such a part might therefore give misleading results.
In summary, it is crucial to protect against external ESD during shipment. TI will only accept returnedparts that are packed such that later damage can be ruled out. The interior of shielded bags /containers may be regarded as a “mobile EPA*”.

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Guidelines for Customer Return Handling (SPRAC01A – SEPTEMBER 2017)
4)

The TI Freising Device Analysis Lab (FDAO) checked the charging of submitted parts within a plastic PE-LD bagwith an electro-field meter and measured a voltage of >1kV. Thus the origin electrical issue can be masked bydamages due to improper ESD protection.

parts shipped within a std. plastic PE-LD bagInclude a detailed description of the alleged issue with the TI partTo streamline analysis, TI requests that the following information be provided with any returns:







Full orderable TI part number (TI P/N) and customer part number (CP/N);
Customer reference number;
A clear and detailed description of the alleged issue at the TI part level including, set-up and use
conditions for stimulation of the alleged issue as well as software sequence, as appropriate;
Quantity, frequency and clustering, related volumes and observed potential failure rate ofsuspect TI parts;
Photos of the suspect TI parts’ top and bottom marking;Photos of the TI labels attached to the original shipping carton/boxes/bags or reels; andSchematic drawing of the application circuitry including set-up, voltage and current conditions of
the suspect TI part in the customer application.

Failure to include the required information could jeopardize an efficient and successful analysis.

Summary
These guidelines are meant to enable an efficient and effective issue-solving process. Thank you
for your careful attention to, and compliance with, these guidelines.

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References
JEDEC JESD625
IEC/EN 61340-5-3

ANSI/ESD S541
ANSI/ESD S8.1
IPC/JEDEC J-STD-033
IPC-7711

Requirements for Handling Electrostatic-Discharge (ESD) Sensitive
Devices
Electrostatics – Part 5-3: Protection of electronic devices fromelectrostatic phenomena – Properties and requirements classification for
packaging intended for electrostatic discharge sensitive devices
Packaging Materials for ESD Sensitive Items
Symbols ESD Awareness
Handling, Packing, Shipping and Use of Moisture/Reflow Sensitive
Surface Mount Devices
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