Hamamatsu Photonics has developed the iPHEMOS-DDX, an inverted emission microscope designed for failure analysis of advanced semiconductor packages, including AI chiplets, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), 2.5D and 3D packages, and other large-scale semiconductor packages.
The semiconductor industry is rapidly advancing alongside the growth of generative AI, driving higher performance in AI chips while also making device structures increasingly complex and highly miniaturized. As chip package designs grow more intricate, pinpointing exactly where a failure occurred becomes correspondingly harder, creating demand for highly accurate and efficient failure analysis tools like the iPHEMOS-DDX.
The iPHEMOS-DDX is designed to integrate flexibly into existing tester-centered measurement setups, supporting direct docking to testing equipment from three different directions. It also combines seven different analysis techniques, photon emission microscopy (PEM), thermal and laser-induced thermography (Thermal/LIT), laser scanning microscopy (LSM), optical beam-induced resistance change (OBIRCH), dynamic laser stimulation (DALS), electro-optical probing and electro-optical frequency mapping (EOP/EOFM), and time-domain (TD) imaging, into a single platform, which can streamline failure analysis workflows and reduce the overall time needed for analysis.
Hamamatsu will showcase the new system at ISTFA 2026, taking place in San Antonio, Texas, from October 4 through October 8.
