Optimized X-ray Microscope (OXM) for IC Reverse Engineering

Nondestructive 3D imaging of the interconnect structure of microelectronics with x-rays has been demonstrated on an Xradia microscope at the synchrotron. The same scanning speed can be obtained in a non-synchrotron optimized x-ray microscope (OXM) by taking advantage of recent advancement in x-ray source and x-ray optics technology to be developed in the proposed project. The OXM will allow nondestructive 3D imaging IC devices of an area of 1mm2 in 40hrs at 100nm resolution for evaluation and reverse engineering. The substantial throughput gain of the OXM will be achieved mainly by: a new type of x-ray source (liquid metal jet) offering significantly higher brightness and an optimal x-ray spectrum for imaging IC devices; a recently demonstrated new atomic layer deposition fabrication technology to make an x-ray zone plate objective with significantly higher numerical aperture, efficiency, and more than 3X larger field of view; a new scintillator materials and a new innovative reconstruction and scanning concepts. The proposing company has a track record of successfully developing the most advanced x-ray microscopes in the world and is well suited to develop the proposed OXM to meet the criteria set in the SBIR proposal call.