How do I perform accelerated life testing on RF components intended for military use?

Accelerated life testing (ALT) on RF components for military use applies elevated stress levels (primarily temperature, voltage, and humidity) to induce failure mechanisms in a compressed timeframe, allowing extrapolation of the expected field lifetime without testing for decades. The primary ALT method for RF semiconductor components is High Temperature Operating Life (HTOL) testing, where devices are biased at full RF operating conditions while the junction temperature is elevated to 175-250 degrees C (compared to normal operating temperatures of 80-150 degrees C). The test duration is typically 1,000-4,000 hours. The acceleration factor is calculated using the Arrhenius model: AF = exp[Ea/kB x (1/T_use - 1/T_test)], where Ea is the activation energy for the dominant failure mechanism (typically 1.5-2.0 eV for GaAs and GaN HEMT degradation). Additional ALT methods include temperature cycling (typically -65 to +200 degrees C, 1,000-4,000 cycles to reveal solder joint and wire bond fatigue), highly accelerated stress testing (HAST) at 130 degrees C, 85% RH, and 2 atm pressure to evaluate moisture-related failure, and step-stress testing where temperature is incrementally raised until failure to identify the activation energy and failure mechanism.