EVALUATION OF STRUCTURAL DEGRADATION IN PACKAGED SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS USING A TRANSIENT THERMAL CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUE

A transient thermal characterisation technique for monitoring structur al degradation in microelectronic components will be presented. This d estructive package quality evaluation technique is based on indirect t ransient temperature response measurements and can be used to determin e both the existence and location of structural defects in packaged se miconductor devices. The effect of package thermal properties on the t ransient temperature response is first investigated by means of finite element analysis. Practical thermal impedance measurements on a hybri d test structure and a 48-lead TSSOP illustrate the capabilities of th e transient measurement technique with respect to failure characterisa tion in microelectronic packages. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd