The emergence of three-dimensional (3D) semiconductor devices has increased the importance of thermal imaging techniques. This paper presents a dual-capability system combining thermo-reflectance and thermal lock-in imaging (LIT) for high-speed, highly sensitive thermal analysis. We evaluate the hotspot detection capabilities of two-wavelength thermo-reflectance compared to LIT, including results from actual failure analysis cases. Our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of thermo-reflectance detection (TD) imaging for 3D devices where direct optical access to active layers is limited, such as 3D NAND flash memory and BSP-DN structured devices. This approach offers a promising solution for the thermal characterization of complex 3D semiconductor architectures.

High-speed time-resolved emission analysis is an attractive failure analysis technique because of its non-invasiveness. Super-conductive nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD or SSPD) is a key candidate of key device for time-resolved emission analysis. In this paper, we demonstrate time-resolved emission and its application of spatial resolution enhancement. We could confirm that time-resolved emission imaging can enhance spatial resolution by simple mathematical operations compared to static emission analysis, which is effective for finding emission spots before detailed time-resolved data investigations.

We propose in this paper to introduce the L-NEPS (Laser Nano Electro-static field Probe Sensor), which can detect the slight quasi-electrostatic field generated by optical excitation and thermal excitation occurred when laser beam irradiates on the surface and back of the Die of LSI under non-bias and non-contact conditions, as well as the method to locate the failure point with this device. This report explains the principle of quasi-electrostatic field sensing by L-NEPS and the detection mechanism, and also illustrates the effectiveness of this detection method on the basis of analysis data of two examples of LSI failures (ESD breakdown).