Product shelf life FAQs
What is customer shelf life?
Customer product shelf life refers to the amount of time that a customer can properly store a TI product at their site without physical degradation that might subsequently impact manufacturing integrity.
How does TI store products before shipping them to customers?
TI stores all products in humidity- and temperature-controlled environments, with appropriate moisture barrier bags and desiccant based on TI internal specifications for moisture sensitivity that align with Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) J-STD-033C: Handling, Packaging, Shipping and Use of Moisture, Reflow and Process Sensitive Devices. TI evaluated the potential risk of long-term storage in the application reports, “Component Reliability After Long Term Storage” and “Long Term Storage Evaluation of Semiconductor Devices” including the risk assessment published in JEDEC JEP160, “Long-Term Storage for Electronic Solid-State Wafers, Dice and Devices.”
As a customer, is it OK for me to use products that I have stored for a longer than usual period of time?
Generally, yes, so long as you have properly stored and handled the products. The exact customer product shelf life for a specific semiconductor product depends on a number of factors, including the type of materials used in the device, manufacturing conditions, moisture sensitivity levels, the use of moisture barrier bags in product packaging, the amount of desiccant used and your storage conditions. As such, the decision to use the products is one that only you can make with these details in mind.
The TI application report, “Component Reliability After Long Term Storage,” describes the risk factors associated with the extended storage of plastic-encapsulated integrated circuits in a warehouse (an uncontrolled indoor environment) and the materials and practices required to assure the quality and reliability of the devices to the customer.
What are the benefits to TI’s product shelf life approach?
Careful control of our internal manufacturing and logistics processes enables us to deliver products with appropriate product shelf life performance and manage inventory in a way that helps increase supply assurance for our customers. TI’s product shelf life approach benefits TI customers in multiple ways:
- Improved assurance of supply.
- Improved product availability, with reduced lead times.
- Improved handling of end-of-life commitments.
- Assurance of genuine TI-sourced parts.
- Assurance that TI has stored the product in a controlled environment and handled it properly.
How can I best protect products during their shelf life?
Please continue to refer to the moisture sensitivity level information on the bag or box for instructions on length of use. Your usage life remains unchanged.
Do I need to bake parts before using them in production?
In general, there is no need to bake properly stored products before using them in the production line. TI also includes humidity indicator cards (HIC) within its moisture barrier bags to ensure the product storage has not been compromised. If the HIC shows pink on >10% level, then the parts in that MBB will need baking before use. TI’s Product Distribution Center takes care to ensure the moisture integrity of all material before shipment. For any material that requires repacking, the seal date on the material will indicate the date on which it was repacked.