Motivating automated multimodal failure analysis for heterogeneously integrated devices

The semiconductor industry’s advancements in advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration have outpaced traditional failure analysis and quality assurance capabilities. Existing non-destructive characterization methods face challenges regarding the small-scale interconnections and multi-layer stack structure of HI packaging. This paper explores the challenges in assuring the reliability of these heterogeneously integrated ICs and proposes a multi-modal approach combining Scanning Acoustic Microscopy and X-ray imaging for comprehensive analysis. SAM offers high-resolution acoustic imaging but faces difficulties in characterizing small-scale interconnects. Similarly, x-ray imaging provides advantageous resolution, but struggles with large sample sizes and long acquisition times. By combining these modalities, this research aims to bolster failure analysis and quality assurance for these up-and-coming technologies.