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IC
Automated Test System
MAGNETIC IMAGING
TECHNOLOGY
RMD offers a new, non-invasive
method, based on magnetic imaging, for locating faults in
circuitry and defects in integrated circuits. This technology
can be used to:
- Locate defective traces or components on PC boards, perform
circuit tests, assess aging and provide prognostic information.
- For IC design, the technology can accurately locate short
circuits, insulation failures, and metallization flaws from
the back side of a silicon wafer or chip, through layers
of silicon or other materials.
Circuit Analysis and Automated Test Equipment (ATE)
The RMD MagVision technology
is a high-resolution magnetic field camera that records the
magnetic field distribution generated by currents in circuits.
By using programmable interface circuitry to stimulate and
isolate circuitry on a PCB, it is possible to perform rapid,
highly accurate automated tests of the circuitry.
MagVision can also rapidly
measure the current, voltage, and frequency at any node in
a circuit, without contact. This information is used to analyze
the circuitry by identifying faulty components and indicating
required repairs to maintenance personnel.
By making detailed magnetic
images of ICs, it is possible to locate a range of circuit
defects that can be used for analysis related to the aging
of a component. Prognostic techniques, based on aging analysis,
are used for identification and replacement of parts prior
to failure.
IC Inspection for Process Development and QA/QC of Integrated
Circuits
ICs must be inspected during
the development of the manufacturing process to optimize the
fabrication process, eliminating short circuits and other
faults that lead to chip failure. A common problem is short
circuits within the integrated circuit. Precise determination
of the location of the short circuit enables process engineers
to modify the fabrication protocol in order to eliminate the
short circuit. Currently, NIR (near infra-red) cameras are
used to find short circuits in ICs by measuring the thermal
signature of the short circuit with a high spatial resolution
IR image. However, because the silicon must be mounted to
its chip carrier upside down prior to testing, the heat from
the short circuit must pass through a layer of silicon and
the IC package before it can be imaged. These materials dissipate
the heat and block some of the IR radiation blurring the image
so that the source of the defect cannot be accurately located.
The solution now used is to
de-lid the IC and cut into the silicon (trenching, using a
focused ion beam (FIB)) to remove material so that the IR
camera can obtain a high resolution image. This is a slow
and time-consuming process.
MagVision offers a method of
imaging that can see through materials and provides high resolution
without trenching or de-lidding. The image can be viewed in-real
time during the IC inspection process.
MagVision ADVANTAGES
- Does not require thinning wafer
- Can see through intervening non-ferromagnetic layers
- Superior resolution to IR camera
- Higher sensitivity than IR camera
- Direct measurement of electrical properties rather than
heat signatures
- Can produce both magnetic field images and electric current
images
- Lower cost than existing ATE systems
- Cost-competitive with IR cameras
MagVision APPLICATIONS
- Locate design flaws in integrated circuits
- Identify short circuits in integrated circuits
- Locate defects in metallization traces in integrated circuits
- Locate defects in insulating layers
- Locate defects in conductors on PC boards
- Identify defective components on PC boards
MagVision FEATURES
- Adjustable range and resolution
- Adjustable sensor height control
- Real-time display of magnetic images
- Several alternative display schemes – 2D and 3D
- Highest resolution images of circuitry available
- Can be programmed to image an IC, a PC board, or a populated
PC board
- Compatible with visual and IR images
- Can image x, y and z components of a magnetic field independently
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