Abstract
We present the redesign and improved performance of the laser terahertz emission microscope (LTEM), which is a potential tool for locating electrical failures in integrated circuits. The LTEM produces an image of the THz waves emitted when the circuit is irradiated by a femtosecond laser; the amplitude of the THz emission is proportional to the local electric field. By redesigning the optical setup and improving the spatial resolution of the system to below 3 microm, we could extend its application to examining of large-scale integration circuits. As example we show the THz emission pattern of the electric field in an 8-bit microprocessor chip under bias voltage.
Highlights
Inspection and failure analysis of large-scale integrated (LSI) circuits has become very important, as there is an increasing demand for quality and reliability in integrated circuit chips [1,2,3]
We present the redesign and improved performance of the laser terahertz emission microscope (LTEM), which is a potential tool for locating electrical failures in integrated circuits
The LTEM produces an image of the THz waves emitted when the circuit is irradiated by a femtosecond laser; the amplitude of the THz emission is proportional to the local electric field
Summary
Inspection and failure analysis of large-scale integrated (LSI) circuits has become very important, as there is an increasing demand for quality and reliability in integrated circuit chips [1,2,3]. Several techniques have been developed to localize electrical failures in LSI circuits, such as thermal or infrared emission analysis, laser testing techniques, emission microscopy, and electron beam testing. We proposed using a laser terahertz emission microscope (LTEM) for noncontact, nondestructive inspection of electrical failures in circuits, and demonstrated the localization of a broken line in an operational amplifier [6,7,8]. Compared with OBIC, a fully non-contact inspection system can be constructed using LTEM because it measures the THz emission in free space from the ultrafast transient photocurrent in a circuit by scanning it with femtosecond (fs) laser pulses. We could successfully record THz emission images of an LSI microprocessor under bias voltage
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