Electrical fault isolation by ultrasonic stimulation

Failure analysis (FA) involves the systematic investigation to determine the root cause of a failure. In integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing, this process forms an important function to improve the reliability and quality of the product. The rising complexity of electronic systems, due to the continued geometric scaling and introduction of 3-D integration, poses new challenges for FA.  The PhD research will concentrate on the development of new fault isolation techniques by exploring the application of ultrasonics. In particular, the successful candidate will develop a new experimental apparatus and perform characterization/evaluation on state-of-the-art IC technology from imec.