High-brilliance Multi-Energy X-ray Source and Optics for Rapid IC Inspection

This Phase II SBIR proposal aims to develop an x-ray illumination beam system comprising a dual-target x-ray source and a set of magnifying Wolter x-ray optics for use in laboratory-based integrated circuit (IC) inspection x-ray microscopes. Due to the increasing reliance on electronics for military systems and devices, a method to quickly analyze ICs in 3D is critical. X-ray microscopy enabled by bright x-rays produced at particle accelerating synchrotron facilities has been demonstrated for such studies, but access to synchrotrons is extremely limited and not a scalable solution. Laboratory-based x-ray microscopes have been developed but work is needed to increase performance of these systems to enable wide-scale deployment for IC inspection. The proposed system will realize the throughput gains required in laboratory systems using a patented high brightness x-ray source utilizing a unique x-ray target design with microstructured metals embedded in diamond. This allows substantially higher electron power loading and dramatically higher flux for IC imaging at optimized 5.4 and 11.4 keV energies. In combination with the source will be a set of high efficiency, first-of-kind magnifying Wolter x-ray optics. Not only will throughput be increased, but image quality and performance will also be substantially improved.