TFT-LCD panel life study

The calculation of MTBF (mean time between failures) is an important task in reliability life data analysis. Using different distributions, the values of mean time between failures are always different. This paper investigates two different approaches to obtaining the TFT-LCD panel life. One is the accelerated demonstration life testing which is performed at the reliability lab during the panel development stage, and the other approach is based on field return data from the repair center. The maximum likelihood estimation method is used to get the log-likelihood value of the different distributions, including the Weibull distribution, normal distribution, lognormal distribution and exponential distribution. The distribution of the maximum log-likelihood is chosen for the optimum TFT-LCD panel life distribution. We also use the maximum likelihood estimates to get the parameters of the distribution and calculate the panel life value. The deviation of the life got from the accelerated demonstration life testing data and the field return data analysis is also discussed in this paper.