The Society of Aerospace Engineers (SAE) AS6171 Aerospace Standard standardizes the test and inspection procedures, workmanship criteria, and minimum training and certification requirements to detect counterfeit electrical, electronic, and electromechanical parts. The standard comes in response to a significant and increasing volume of counterfeit electrical, electronic, and electromechanical parts entering the supply chain. This short manuscript and its accompanying talk update the audience on the risk based methodology for detecting potential counterfeiting related defects. The techniques that are discussed in AS6171 slash sheet include film radiography and filmless radiography such as digital radiography, real time radiography, and computed tomography. The analysis is performed on parts to verify that the internal package or die construction is consistent with an exemplar item. AS6171 will provide the counterfeit detection community with standardized test and inspection procedures, workmanship criteria, and minimum training and certification requirements to detect counterfeit electrical, electronic, and electromechanical parts.

This paper demonstrates that an SEM stereo-pair can be accurately translated into a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) using commercial software running on a desktop computer. The DEM is easy to view without any special equipment and can provide accurate measurements of the sample in all three dimensions. Vertical height measurements with high accuracy can be obtained from the elevation model when the sample has sufficient surface texture and a uniform baseline.

Blind deconvolution techniques were used to enhance scanning electron microscope (SEM) images in the range of 200,000x to 500,000x magnification. Typical SEM samples were imaged including a gold island reference standard, a plasma delayered integrated circuit, and an integrated circuit cross section. Image resolution improvement up to 40% was observed. However, it was necessary to use 16-bit TIFF images with greater than 120:1 signal to noise ratio, which required 10 minute frame times.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) is generally thought of as a bulk analysis technique that is not suited for nano-scale analysis. This paper discusses several options for reducing or eliminating the interaction volume size and obtaining x-ray data with much higher spatial resolution and surface sensitivity than is typically achieved in the SEM. These include collecting data at very low accelerating voltages to minimize beam spread in the sample, tilting the sample to keep the interaction volume near the surface, and analyzing thin sections to reduce or eliminate the problem of beam spread in the sample. Computer software simulations, in conjunction with experimental data are used to illustrate these methods. The paper also discusses issues effecting EDS analysis in the environmental SEM. It has been shown that computer modeling is a useful tool for determining the optimum beam conditions to improve energy dispersive analysis in the SEM.

Nanoscale devices such as carbon nanotubes, fluorescent nanoparticles, and molecular conductors serve as a benchmark for the tools and techniques that will be required in the future to analyze processing defects and determine the cause of electronic device failures. In this paper, the authors compare and contrast the nanoscale capabilities of several imaging techniques, including STEM-in-SEM, forward scattered electron imaging, photoelectron emission microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Along with the results of the various characterization techniques, the paper also includes a survey of the more common nanoscale devices, showing that many require more than one imaging method to make a complete and accurate assessment.

Continuing decreases in electron device feature size have strained the resolution limits of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In this paper a simple method is demonstrated for producing significantly improved resolution in SEM imaging without making any special sample preparation or modifications to the SEM. This method images with the lowloss forward scattered electron signal by using a modified sample holder. The method was found to be particularly useful for observing low atomic number materials such as photoresist and molecular semiconductors in their natural state, i.e. without sputter coating.

Recent developments in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation have greatly reduced the time and cost for preparing thin samples. In this paper, a method is demonstrated for viewing thin samples in transmission in an unmodified scanning electron microscope (SEM) using an easily constructed sample holder. Although not a substitute for true TEM analysis, this method allows for spatial resolution that is superior to typical SEM imaging and provides image contrast from material structure that is typical of TEM images. Furthermore, the method can produce extremely high resolution x-ray maps that are typically produced only by scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) systems.

Optical microscopy techniques used by forensic analysts are shown to have application to failure analysis problems. Proper set up of the optical microscope is reviewed, including the correct use of the field diaphragm and the aperture diaphragm. Polarized light microscopy, bright and dark field methods, refractive index liquids, and a particle reference atlas are used to identify contamination found on semiconductor products.

We report on recent studies of the effects of 50 keV focused ion beam (FIB) exposure on MOS transistors. We demonstrate that the changes in transistor parameters (such as threshold voltage, Vt) are essentially the same for exposure to a Ga+ ion beam at 30 and 50 keV under the same exposure conditions. We characterize the effects of FIB exposure on test transistors fabricated in both 0.5 μm and 0.225 μm technologies from two different vendors. We report on the effectiveness of overlying metal layers in screening MOS transistors from FIB-induced damage and examine the importance of ion dose rate and the physical dimensions of the exposed area.