Smaller Is Better In Military Applications

In many electronic assemblies today, thermal mismatch between the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and the ceramic components causes micro cracks in the solder joints. Several factors contribute to these cracks, notably component size, temperature variation, PCB material, and solder material. A common result of these cracks is intermittent failures during use. The failures are easy to detect but hard to repeat. In commercial applications, we've all experienced this when a cell phone call is dropped, there is a skip in a YouTube video, or an internet application it temporarily interrupted. The impacts of these interruptions are usually trivial. In military applications, a missile loses its location or target, a soldier's tracking device fails (leaving him temporarily ‘lost' or worse, not identified as ‘friendly') or radio communication stops. In these applications, intermittent failures can be life threatening.