Mass spectrometry to identify predictive failure with chemical detection in microelectronic systems

A system for analyzing operational status of an electronic instrument, the system comprising:

• a sampling module that operably couples to an electronic instrument in such a manner that the sampling module receives a vapor emitted from the electronic instrument, the sampling module comprising an ionization source and one or more mass analyzers to thereby produce a chemical signature of one or more analytes in the vapor;
• and
• an analysis module operably coupled to the sampling module to receive the chemical signature of the one or more analytes in the vapor and compare the received chemical signature to a database of known chemical signatures to thereby determine operational status of the electronic instrument, wherein the one or more analytes is at least one analyte selected from the group consisting of oxalic acid, hydroxypentanoic acid, and a combination thereof.