Investigation of I.C. samples using X-ray computer tomography

Abstract
Structure complexity combined with high integration level in microelectronic industry is making the analysis more and more difficult. Non Destructive Analysis of either new semiconductor generation (e.g BGA, Flipchip) or double-sided printed circuit boards, is becoming very difficult as most of the critical structure features are hidden. Although 2D-X-rays inspection is still the most popular non-destructive inspection technique (with acoustic tomography), we need advance inspection tools to improve our analysis capability. Micro 3-D tomography system, combining high-resolution microfocus X-rays technology with state of the art computer aided 3D-reconstruction possibilities provides an answer to technicians. After few minutes' data acquisition, the systems enables you to access to structure details, by using fast specimen non destructive slicing (layers analysis), and tomosynthesis 3D-reconstruction images. Test object can be visualized under arbitrary angles. As defect detectability is close to 20 microns with 3D mode, most of the critical features are detectable, without modifying specimen integrity. Several examples extracted from BGA, Flipchip, and PCB analysis show the advantage offered by this new tomography technique to microelectronic community. Key words. X-ray, radiography, inspection, Non-Destructive-Analysis, tomosynthesis, industrial application.