Abstract:

Temperature and relative humidity affect electrical, chemical, mechanical, and thermo-mechanical properties of microelectronic packages.  Attention has been focused on the environmental effects that result in various physical failures.  The scanning electron microscope is a useful tool for visually characterizing these failures, but its use is restricted because the specimens examined must be coated.  The environmental scanning electron microscope functions like a traditional, high-quality scanning electron microscope, and also allows the researcher to examine unprepared, un-coated specimens.  This makes it possible to view wet or moist specimens in their natural states.  In this paper, several experimental efforts using the E-SEM technique are discussed.  The first was a study of thermal effects on L-band microwave monolithic integrated circuits.  The second investigation concentrated on ad/absorptive effects on multi-layer thin film polyimides.  The third study focused on thermal and humidity cycling effects on the interfaces near platted-through-holes in printed wiring boards.
 

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