Localisation of heat sources in electronic circuits by microthermal laser probing

In this work we present an original method for detection and localisation o f hear sources at microscopic scale upon integrated circuits. The methodolo gy is based upon thermoreflectance and interferometry, which allows us the measurement of surface temperature and dilatation with resolution better th an micrometer, The heat sources are transistors electrically activated, The optical probes we have build act as a thermal antenna sensitive to the pre sence of thermal wave emitted by the heat source, By a set of three measure ments of the phase of the thermal wave we are able to localise the heat sou rce which generates the wave. This methodology is applied to microelectroni cs to detect and localise faults in CMOS integrated circuits. (C) 2000 Edit ions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.