OnChip Offers Visual Inspection Services for Wafers or Bare Die

Semiconductor ICs (Integrated Circuits) are extremely fragile and endure a variety of stresses during wafer fabrication, testing and dicing. They are easily prone to defects that would either prevent the device from operating correctly or pose a reliability concern for long-term operation. These defects are caused either during wafer fabrication or mechanically-induced during handling. The extent to which any defect may be acceptable would be defined by the appropriate criteria selected to fit the application environment. Units that are defective can be effectively removed by visually inspecting the devices under high magnification. There are many different inspection criteria, but the most common one is MIL-STD-883, Method 2010. This inspection standard defines the equipment to be used for the inspection, magnification ranges, what defects to look for and quantifies the amount of any particular defect that is acceptable.

The ability to visually inspect a circuit requires a lot of skill and training which increases through experience and a continuous training program. OnChip employs a highly qualified staff of inspectors who have over 30 years of experience in this field. We work very closely with our customers at the beginning to ensure we are calibrated to their inspection needs. Visual inspection services are offered either in wafer-form or after the device has been sawn and placed in chip trays such as waffle packs or gelpaks.

OnChip offers 100% visual inspection using both low and high power microscopes that meet Commercial, Military and Medical Electronics specifications. Inspection is done to look for various types of visual defects. Some of the more common defects include:

• Embedded foreign material
• Metallization or Passivation voids & irregularities
• Contamination such as liquid or adhesive residues and surface particles
• Surface scratches caused by test probes or wafer handlers
• Dicing defects such as chip outs and cracks

For more info email sales@onchip.com or call (408) 654-9365.