Terahertz Waves for Quality Control
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created a technique that uses terahertz waves to measure structural properties in integrated circuits.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created a technique that uses terahertz waves to measure structural properties in integrated circuits.
The technique is a new approach to measuring key properties of nanoscale metal-oxide films used in high-speed integrated circuits. This could become an effective quality-control tool in semiconductor manufacturing processes and the evaluation of new metal oxide nanofilm insulating materials.
Manufacturers typically use X-ray spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy to evaluate metal oxide films, but both methods are time consuming. The NIST researchers discovered that they could obtain comparable details about the structural characteristics of the thin films by measuring their absorption of terahertz radiation.
Photonics West: Terahertz Spectroscopy to Detect Changes in Integrated Circuit Packaging Materials
February 2nd 2024Chengjie Xi of the University of Florida held a lecture on how terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) can be used to detect changes in integrated-circuit (IC) packaging materials.
