Warranty Returns are semiconductor devices returned by customers due to failure or non-conformance during the warranty period — tracked as a key quality metric, warranty returns trigger return material analysis (RMA), root cause investigation, and corrective action to prevent recurrence.

Warranty Return Process

• Customer Report: Customer identifies failed devices — submits RMA request with failure mode description.
• Receiving: Failed devices are received, logged, and prioritized for analysis.
• Failure Analysis: Electrical characterization, physical failure analysis (FIB, SEM, TEM) — identify the root cause.
• Corrective Action: Implement process, design, or test changes to prevent recurrence — 8D problem-solving methodology.

Why It Matters

• Quality Indicator: Warranty return rate (PPM) is a key customer quality metric — drives customer satisfaction and future business.
• Cost: Each return costs $100-$10,000+ in analysis, replacement, and logistics — major quality cost driver.
• Continuous Improvement: Warranty return analysis feeds back to improve manufacturing, testing, and design.

Warranty Returns are customer quality feedback — returned devices that drive root cause analysis and continuous manufacturing improvement.