Beginning February 4, 2018, Analog Devices date code policy will be to ship product up to 5 years old.
Data shows parts are not substandard well beyond 5 years, we are choosing 5 years as a reasonable cut-off point. Within our industry, there may be some lingering concerns around long-solved issues with solder-ability of parts that cause customers to ask for new material. But those issues no longer exist, and requests for newer date codes add cost to the supply chain with no benefit. This change is in line with our peers in the semiconductor industry.
It’s important to note this change will not result in a sudden increase in date codes of 5 years. We have been routinely scrapping material over 3 years, so it will be a gradual process to have any shipments with date codes older than 3 years.
Please click here for more information: DateCodePolicy2017