Nanoprobing is an advanced electrical characterization and fault-localization technique used in semiconductor failure analysis to directly investigate individual transistors, contacts, vias and interconnect structures inside an integrated circuit.
Instead of relying only on package-level electrical measurements, nanoprobing allows extremely small conductive structures on a deprocessed semiconductor die to be
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) is one of the highest-resolution physical-analysis techniques used in semiconductor failure analysis. It allows failure analysts to examine extremely small structural and material anomalies that may be impossible to characterize using optical microscopy or conventional SEM alone.
TEM works by transmitting a high-energy electron beam
OBIRCH (Optical Beam Induced Resistance Change) is a laser-based fault-localization technique used in semiconductor failure analysis to identify electrically abnormal regions such as resistive shorts, leakage paths, defective vias and interconnect problems.
The technique works by scanning a focused laser across an electrically biased semiconductor device. Local laser heating
Emission Microscopy (EMMI) is an optical fault-localization technique used in semiconductor failure analysis to identify electrically active defects inside integrated circuits. Instead of physically opening individual circuit structures and searching for damage, emission microscopy detects extremely weak light generated while a semiconductor device is electrically operating or biased.
Abnormal
Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM) is a non-destructive imaging technique widely used in semiconductor failure analysis to inspect structures and interfaces hidden inside IC packages. Unlike optical microscopy, which relies on visible light, or X-ray inspection, which relies primarily on differences in material density and X-ray absorption, SAM uses high-frequency acoustic waves. This
Read More
Finding the right semiconductor failure analysis lab often depends less on the laboratory’s name and more on whether it has the equipment and technical expertise required for your specific failure. A package delamination problem may require Scanning Acoustic Microscopy. A suspected interconnect defect may require FIB cross-sectioning and SEM inspection. Leakage
Read More