Determination of the root cause : Determination of the root cause :
The physical and electrical evidence in this case indicates that the returned sample suffered a breakdown
within the dielectric. Some potential causes of dielectric breakdown include overvoltage , inrush surge,
excessive ripple current, reverse bias, thermal stress, mechanical stress, or a weakness within the
dielectric of the capacitor. However, while current failure analysis techniques may reveal characteristics
of a components failure, they do not always allow for the determination of a root cause. In this case, a
definitive root cause of the dielectric breakdown of the capacitor .
Since a root cause could not be identified, no corrective action can be offered at this point in time.