A Novel Decapsulation Technique for Failure Analysis of Integrated Circuits

Failure analysis (FA) is a critical element in Integrated Circuit (IC) manufacturing. As IC advances and new materials are introduced in the semiconductor process, some conventional FA techniques cannot be applied. In this paper, we present a novel FA technique for IC packages with copper wire. It is a low cost and time efficient dry etching technique, where microwave induced plasma (MIP) is utilized to decapsulate the plastic encapsulated microcircuits components. The system does not require any vacuum and is capable to remove the molding compound on the top of the IC chip without destroying the structure on the chip or the wires. The experimental set-up to operate the plasma is described and the results of the experiments are shown to prove the feasibility and the efficiency of the proposed technique.