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Acoustic Micro Imaging of Large Objects

A
coustic micro imaging (AMI) is a non- solar, IC manufacturing, automotive, marine,
Jesse Guzman destructive ultrasonic inspection tech- and aviation industries. Inspection of compo-
ISE Labs Inc. nique commonly used for imaging of nents using ultrasound is commonly used in a
Fremont, Calif. small objects such as integrated circuits (ICs). range of applications, such as inspecting a spot
A key benefit of ultrasound is its ability to de- weld on an automotive gas cap door, looking
tect delaminations less than 1 mm thick, pro- for delaminations in a composite panel lay-up,
While acoustic vided the x-y dimension of the defect meets or and inspecting for anomalies in thin-film solar
imaging is exceeds the resolution of the ultrasound trans- panels.
largely used ducer. With modern equipment, resolution as Examples of scanning and analyzing large
to inspect low as 5 mm is possible in certain applications. parts, as well as an explanation of some typical
The part must be submerged in a coupling issues that arise when scanning large area parts
integrated medium, such as deionized (DI) water, to trans- and how to deal with the problems are pre-
circuits, with fer the ultrasound efficiently from the trans- sented here.
the right ducer to the part under inspection. Air is too
equipment, it attenuative to be used at frequencies between Brazed assembly
can used to 10 and 300 MHz. A clogged 18-in. diameter brazed metal
The tools of the trade are commonly re- cooling system was scanned in a large tank
detect defects ferred to as SAMs, or scanning acoustic mi- using 50-MHz transducer with a 2 in. focal
in large croscopes. They mostly operate using a length. Resolution of the initial scan was
objects. “C-mode” scan type, which uses a raster scan good enough to allow zooming in to the area
with an ultrasonic transducer to produce a of the clog without requiring a second scan
two-dimensional image of a part. Typical (Figs. 1 and 2). The component required
SAMs have scan areas in the <12 in. range, blocks (visible in scan at blue arrows) to
but some customized SAMs have scan areas stand on a level surface, the water ports in
of several feet. The SAM at ISE Labs in Fre- the bottom of the device would not allow it
mont is a Sonoscan C-SAM D-24. It features to stand flat otherwise.
a 24-in. scanner with an oversized water tank,
which allows for inspection of large parts,
printed circuit boards (PCBs), multiple trays
of ICs, and other components.
Further modification of the instrument by
ISE Labs allows inspection of oversized parts
that do not fit in the provided inspection tank
(Fig. 1). This opens up many possibilities for
inspection of components commonly found in

Fig. 2 — Large brazed aluminum-copper cooling-

Fig. 1 — Thru scan of oversized solar panel; panel is hanging out of water Fig. 3 — Close up of clogged channel in cooling-
tank and supported on a variable height stand. ring assembly.

22 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • AUGUST 2012

Fig. 4 — Reflection mode C-SAM image of a Fig. 5 — Reflection mode C-SAM image Fig. 6 — Thru scan, or transmission, mode
solar panel module with delamination (lighter of a solar panel module without any SAM image of a solar panel module with
regions around the periphery) of silicone op- delamination of silicone optical couplant. delaminations (dark regions) and dark
tical couplant. through vias.
Solar panels Fig. 7 — Close up
Solar panels pose testing challenges, even using the of upper right
large acoustic microscope at ISE Labs. Many panels are corner of solar
panel in Fig. 6.
more than 2 ft long, and “stick out” of the machine. These
large objects can be handled in an oversized tank, but con-
struction could be costly and the heavy tanks might require
extra support. Storing the tank when not in use must also
be considered. The D-24 SAM can examine modules up to
3.5 in. tall by 36 in. wide.
Solar panels were analyzed in both the reflective and
Thru scan, or transmission, modes (Figs. 4-7). Reflective
scans require use of a “waterfall,” support blocks in the
tank, a water dam, and support to hold the portion of the
module hanging outside the water tank. Edge seals (and
voiding in seals), diodes, lines, and internal connections with large objects that stick out past the current limits of
were successfully imaged. Using a shallow drip tray the instrument. The new water tank will have a front cut
specifically made to handle tall parts and the waterfall out with a weatherized strip attached. The part being in-
technique is the most cost-effective approach to solar spected will sit on the weatherized strip and a “clamping
panel inspection. part” with another weatherizing strip will go over the top
Thru scan mode is more of a challenge as bubbles of the part to form a water tight seal. This enables fully sub-
trapped on the bottom of the large object give false indica- merging the part and scanning without the waterfall, and
tions of delamination. This requires use of the water fall the bubble issue is greatly reduced.
and a full tank. Water spills over the top of the tank into a
catch tank, and extra water is continuously fed into the Methodology
tank to maintain the water level to the top of the tank (and Two aspects of prime importance to successfully image
the bottom of the part). A water dam is also needed to stop oversized parts using ultrasound are: the plane of the part
the waterfall water from flowing off the part onto the floor. being scanned must be parallel to that of the scanner mech-
ISE uses a weather strip attached to a metal bar, but other anism and, the ultrasound must be able to reach the part.
arrangements or materials can be used. Parallelism between plane of the part and scanner is
To remove troublesome bubbles, the panel is slid into important because while the z-axis adjustments are possi-
the tank so the bubbles are scraped off along the edge of ble for focusing purposes before the scan, the z-axis height
the tank. As the Thru scan arm passes over the edge of the of the transducer does not change during the C-Mode
panel it causes turbulence, and depending on its speed, cre- scan. Each transducer has a particular focal length and
ates bubbles that can cling to the underside of the panel. depth of field; the latter defines the distance range at which
This required use of a “squeegee” to remove bubbles and the ultrasound signal is considered “in focus.” Depth of
create a ledge at the edge of parts where the scan has to go field can range from several millimeters to submillimeters,
to the edge. The ledge is a plate that is supported at the making part planarity both in shape and placement critical.
same height as the panel and moves the edge away from Large objects can be imaged with good results provided
the part; no cavitation/edge effect occurs because the arm part flatness and its relationship to the scanner plane are
no longer travels out to the new edge. kept within the transducer’s depth of field.
A special tank design is being considered for future use Time of flight (TOF) is a measure of the time the signal

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • AUGUST 2012 23

the part (TOF within 0.2 msec edge to edge and top to bot-
tom is sufficient).
Uneven surfaces on the bottom side of the part do not
allow the device to rest properly in the water tank, which
can be overcome by using blocks of exactly the same height
(precision stainless steel, brass, and Teflon blocks are used
at ISE). Blocks are set under the part in locations that allow
the top surface to be flat with respect to the scan plane and
allow the asperities (often plumbing ports) to be held above
the bottom of the tank (Fig. 8).
If an immersion tank can be devised to accommodate
Fig. 8 — Supports used to correct for tilt in internal construction of part and the entire part, it ensures that ultrasound can reach the
for asperities at the bottom of a part.
oversized part. If such a tank is not possible or practicable,
an alternative technique known as a waterfall can be used
(Fig. 9). Instead of immersing the part and transducer in a
water bath, a special attachment called a water cup fits over
the transducer. A pump supplies a constant flow of water
between the transducer and the part. This nonimmersion
technique minimizes water exposure, while providing a
coupling fluid through the ultrasound can propagate.
Water that drains off the part from the waterfall is recov-
ered in a drip tray and recirculated through the waterfall
system. This requires some fixturing when the part is large
enough to hang outside the water tank.

Conclusions
Although acoustic imaging is largely used for inspec-
tion of ICs, it can successfully be used to analyze larger ob-
jects. ISE Labs uses a commercially available system to
image shower heads (18 in. in diameter), large PC boards
(up to 32 in. on the short end), and solar panels (up to 32
in. wide by 48 in. long). Use of custom built plastic water
tanks, support structures for holding the parts, water
dams, and a variety of transducers (focal length and fre-
quency) allows top down inspection and even Thru scan
Fig. 9 — Typical setup includes a waterfall cup over the analysis of large objects. We have been able to detect
transducer to couple water to the surface and a water dam to
cracks, delaminations, material incursions, voids, and clogs
stop the water from spilling down the device and onto the floor.
in various large parts.
takes to travel from the transducer, strike the part surface,
and return to the detector. The time needs to be approxi- Further reading
mately the same across the entire section of the device to • L.W. Kessler, Acoustic Microscopy, Nondestructive Evalua-
be scanned. If TOF is very different across a scan, very dark tion and Quality Control; Metals Handbook, Vol 17, 9th Edi-
tion, ASM International, 1989, p 465-482.
and very bright regions will be present on the image, which
• D.A. Gilmour, J.F. Reilly, and D. Calabrese, Comparison of
can skew the interpretation of results. Acoustic Microscope, X-ray Radiography, Dye Penetrant and
Common causes for variation in TOF over the flat part Destructive Physical Analysis Data for Die Attachment Analy-
include tilt in part construction, tilt in the water tank, and sis”, Proc. Intl. Acoustic Micro Imaging Symposium, 1997.
uneven surfaces on the bottom of the part. A solution to • MIL-STD-883, Method 2030, Ultrasonic Inspection of Die
each of these issues was found. Attach, Notice 5, May 1987.
For example, tilt in part construction due to different • L. McGovern and D. Baldwin, Initial Development Work on
a High Throughput Low Cost Flip Chip on Board Assembly
thickness of an adhesion layer from one side of a part to
Process, Proc. Intl. Symp. on Microelectronics (IMAPS) p
the other can be handled by compensation tilting of the 284-89, 1997.
part. Fixtures to hold the device at the required angle can
be used to set the flat surface parallel to the scan plane of This article is based on a paper published first in ISTFA 2011
the transducer. Proceedings by ASM International.
Tilt in the water tank or overall set up of the device
were overcome by shimming the water tank. This involves For more information: ISE Labs Inc., 46800 Bayside Pkwy.,
lifting the tank and placing thin/strong under the appro- Fremont, CA 94538; tel: 510/687-2500; fax: 510/687-2513;
priate side(s) of the tank until the TOF is uniform across web-site: www.iselabs.com.

24 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • AUGUST 2012