Abstract: A practical method for greatly enhancing the strength of the modulated signal from laser probing of IC's is described. An IC device under test (DUT) is scanned with two spatially separated laser beams. The output from a single laser source is split into two separate components with each focused on different areas of the DUT. The separation between the beams and their intensity is adjustable to maximize the strength of the modulated return signal. Typically a NIR laser is used with flip-chip IC devices to account for the band-gap (transmission) characteristics of the substrate material. Upon reflection from the DUT, the reflected beams are recombined to interfere with one another. The phase difference of the two beams is adjustable to gain maximum interference. This signal is then processed to obtain the waveforms that correspond to the actions of the active gates and nodes as the chip is electronically cycled through its prescribed test loop.

Abstract: A test station holds a semiconductor wafer during electrical testing with an electrical test apparatus and optical inspection with an optical system. The test station allows wafer probing to be aligned external to the optical system. After the wafer is in alignment, the test station may be transported to the optical system for inspection from a back side of the wafer while having electrical testing by the electrical test apparatus from the front side. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Abstract: A microscope includes a detector device having an enclosure and an infrared sensitive detector array disposed within the enclosure. The enclosure may be cryogenically cooled and have an aperture which defines an aperture stop for an optical path extending to the detector array. The microscope may have a microscope objective with an objective exit pupil, and the microscope may include one or more intermediate optical elements which are configured to image at least a portion of the objective exit pupil at the aperture stop while simultaneously focusing light from an object transmitted through the objective at the detector array.

Abstract: Image correction may comprise acquiring a pixel value for each pixel in a raw image of a sample; obtaining a corresponding filtered pixel value for each pixel in the raw image by applying a filtering function to a subset of pixels in a window surrounding each pixel; obtaining pixel values for a final image by performing a pixel-by-pixel division of each pixel value of the raw image by the corresponding filtered pixel value; and displaying or storing the final image. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for optically measuring the temperature of a packaged integrated circuit (IC). A light beam is focused inside the IC package onto a region of the integrated circuit whose temperature is to be measured. The through-substrate reflectivity of the IC, which is a function of temperature and material characteristics (e.g., doping) of the region, determines how much of the incident light is reflected to a photo-detector. The photo-detector measures the intensity of the reflected light and generates a corresponding through-substrate reflectivity signal R. The reflectivity signal R is correlated with transmission curves for that region or materials with similar characteristics and the temperature of the region determined therefrom. Confocal techniques can be applied to substantially reduce measurement signal noise due to light reflected from the IC package which interferes with the light reflected from the IC.