STTR Phase I: An Unique, Low-Cost, Real-Time Mold Detector

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to produce an infrared photo-elastic stress analysis system utilizing cutting edge technology analogous to visible light photo-elasticity and applied for the first time to optically opaque, yet infrared transparent, materials. The device will allow nondestructive, full-field stress characterization of silicon, compound semi-conductors, photonic materials, thin films, interfaces, and buried layers at a speed applicable to on-line inspection. Currently, residual stresses are not routinely measured because there are no efficient commercially available techniques. The result of Phase I will be an industrially driven design criteria for an instrument that can measure these residual stresses in a manner that is rapid, affordable, easy to master, and easy to justify. A prototype stress imager will find applications in nearly every portion of the micro-electronics industry including; wafer manufacture, device manufacture, microelectronics packaging, and MEMS devices. The proposed instrument will be relatively inexpensive, affordable enough for small universities, fabs, and engineering mechanics laboratories. Finally, commercial applications outside the electronics industry have been identified, including; inspecting thermal barrier coatings, measuring sintering stresses in ceramics as well as curing stresses in polymers and polymer composites.