Accelerated fatigue testing methodology for reliability assessments of fiber reinforced composite polymer materials in micro/nano systems

The paper addresses the determination of the effects of time and temperature on strength and lifetime of structural polymer composites. For some time, this topic has already concerned the aerospace industry during their fatigue tests of light structures made of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) under various loading modes. More recently, the issue has also become of great relevance to applications in microelectronics and micro/nano system technologies. Following the More-than-Moore development strategy, substrates and new innovative structural parts of those systems are exposed to complex and very challenging service conditions (e.g., implantable bio-medical, aeronautic, or automotive applications). In this paper, a new approach to accelerated testing highlighted in open literature has been assessed with respect to its potential for determining the fatigue behavior of composite materials used in microelectronics and micro/nano system technologies.