Applications for Parallel Grinding as an Alternative to Chemical Decapsulation in Preparing Packaged Samples for Failure Analysis

Acid etching of plastic packages can both remove key evidence and introduce artifacts on decapsulated samples. Parallel grinding offers a non-chemical option for removing package material that can minimize these risks. This technique was used successfully on three different types of failure analysis investigations. It also has potential for supporting the analysis of corrosion defects, though additional work is needed to confirm the utility of parallel grinding in this application.