Comparison of Magnetic Field Imaging and Lock-In Thermography Techniques for 2.5D Advanced-Package Microelectronics Devices

Abstract

Quantum diamond microscope (QDM) instruments are an emerging technique being used for high-resolution magnetic field imaging (MFI) applications in a broad range of applications, including geology, biology, condensed-matter physics, and microelectronics. For microelectronics inspection and failure analysis (FA), MFI methods can offer the possibility to sense internal current paths deep inside a device (unimpeded by opaque shallower layers), and can be a potential solution to detecting faults in devices where more conventional methods maybe be difficult or impossible. To establish and quantify this anticipated capability of this emerging technique, rigorous comparisons between QDM and other FA approaches are needed. The outcomes of these comparisons will illustrate the relative advantages between FA techniques, and establish what previously unsolvable challenges may now become solvable using a QDM. In this paper, we compare QDM magnetic images with lock-in thermography (LIT) images of internal currents in 2.5D chiplet devices to investigate these questions. To conclude, we discuss new directions for QFM microelectronics FA, and what long-term QDM design choices would be beneficial for these being successful.