Improved Infrared Imaging of Semiconductor Devices

Infrared thermal microscopy is a widely used tool for the thermal analysis of microelectronic circuits [1]. It is a noncontact measurement technique and utilizes naturally emitted infrared radiation from a sample. Commercial IR microscopes are readily available, offering a maximum spatial resolution of ~ 3 μm and a range of analysis options, including real time thermal mapping and thermal transient detection [2]. The technique has been used to study a number of different types of electronic device including GaAs FETs [3], MMICs [4], RF power amplifiers [5,6] and device packaging [7]. The optical power emitted by an ideal infrared emitter, a so called blackbody, can be defined as a function of wavelength λ at a known temperature T by Planck’s radiation law [8]