This article presents and evaluates a calibration method that significantly improves the spectral information that can be extracted from photon emission signals obtained from semiconductor devices. Step-by-step instructions are given for calibrating photon emission microscopes for specific measurements such as device parameters and material band gap. The article also discusses the types of errors that can occur during calibration. Although the procedure presented is used on InGaAs sensors, it applies to all common photon emission detectors.

This article discusses the setup and use of thermoreflectance imaging, a thermal mapping technique with a spatial resolution in the submicron range and a time resolution down to tens of nanoseconds. It describes the basic physics of thermoreflectance measurements and the advantages and limitations of the approach. It also provides examples showing how thermoreflectance imaging is used for thermal characterization, design optimization, and reliability analysis of high-power transistors, electrostatic discharge devices, and copper vias.

This article discusses the basic principles of dark current spectroscopy (DCS), a measurement technique that can detect and identify low levels of metal contaminants in CMOS image sensors. An example is given in which DCS is used to determine the concentration of tungsten and gold contaminants in an image sensor and estimate the dark current generated by a single atom of each metal.

This article demonstrates a simple and robust backside illumination method for infrared imaging of ICs. The technique uses oblique illumination, which removes surface noise components while providing bright-field illumination under the surface, and requires only modest if any polishing of the backside of the substrate. As the examples in the article show, it can be implemented with a standard microscope with IR optics, yielding high contrast, high resolution images without the need for complex lenses, AR coatings, or sophisticated scanning electronics.

Recent improvements in giant magnetoresistance sensors have increased the achievable spatial resolution of magnetic current imaging on packaged devices without a significant compromise in magnetic field sensitivity. Front and backside current imaging examples show the utility of these new sensors for die-level failure analysis.

Recent work with a commercial instrument based on a SQUID sensor shows that magnetic field imaging can be very effective in isolating defect shorts in packages and dies. This technique is especially beneficial when the defect is buried under layers of metal, Si, or encapsulation materials. Many of these defects can be imaged for coarse localization without any deprocessing of the sample. SQUID sensors can produce weak current images even in the presence of background current five orders of magnitude stronger. This high sensitivity also enables effective imaging with much lower currents than thermal techniques.