Quality validation of PCB-mounted sensors to prevent counterfeit components

Abstract: Counterfeiting of electronic components is a growing problem, leading to lost revenue for companies as well as unreliable products delivered to customers. There is no general way for small hardware companies to deal with the problem. Addressing counterfeiting is usually not a high priority for these companies, though it is still imperative for them to deliver products with guaranteed functionality. This thesis, written at Minut AB in collaboration with Lund University, concerns the problem of counterfeit components in the tech industry. The approach is to test components during product manufacturing. A test system validating the components' performance is developed to guarantee the quality and functionality of the final product. The results show that the developed test system is capable of finding components with deviating performance. A malfunctioning counterfeit component can be discovered by the test system, though, counterfeiting is a complex problem difficult to assess at individual component level. Introduction of test and production statistics can point to failing component batches. These statistics opens for further investigation in the search for counterfeit components.