HTOL (high temperature operating life)
Beginner
A test that runs chips hot and powered for about 1,000 hours to show they won’t wear out too soon.
Novice
A stress test that runs chips at high temperature and their highest allowed voltage, typically for 1,000 hours (about six weeks), testing them before and after. The JEDEC standard JESD22-A108 describes the method.
Expert
Heat and voltage speed up wear-out, so 1,000 hours stands in for years of use. Zero failures gives only an upper bound on the failure rate, and one stress condition speeds up mechanisms with different activation energies by different amounts.
Explained in After tapeout (Extras).
See also: Acceleration factor, FIT (failures in time), Qualification.