Technological obsolescence of electronic components and equipments: issues and challenges

The implementation of new technologies renders their predecessors obsolete, useless and difficult to maintain, due to the decreasing availability of components, suppliers and technical expertise. According to the IEC 62402:2019 the risk of obsolescence is inevitable. Studies have shown that up to 70% of COTS (Commerce Off The Shelf) electronic components are obsolete before the product is launched on the market.

The electronics industry is currently one of the most dynamic industries in the global economy. Growth is massive, and investment and competition have been stimulated by the growing demand for innovative new technologies. New components are being introduced to the market ever more rapidly, with smaller sizes, lower power consumption, differentiation, customization and enhanced functionality, leading not only to the obsolescence of older versions but also to the growing complexity of technological equipment. As a result, the useful life of components diminishes as more advanced ones become available. This incompatibility of life-cycle durations poses multiple problems for manufacturers of systems with long life-cycles. This discrepancy is at the root of the technological obsolescence discussed in section 1 . One example is the aeronautics sector, where aircraft depend on the same components and suppliers as the higher-volume consumer electronics market. The life cycle of components is normally around two to three years, whereas the life cycle, from procurement to availability of spare parts, in aeronautics is much longer, estimated at over fifty years. As aircraft manufacturers are not relatively large buyers of these components, electronics manufacturers tend to redirect their production and consolidate their capacity for the new technology components demanded by high-volume customers, i.e. the mass-produced electronics market, such as small household appliances, video games and photographic equipment. This creates supply difficulties for the sector: the component becomes obsolete because it is no longer available from the original manufacturer. A secondary component market then emerges, and components generally remain available...