Method and apparatus for testing a packaging substrate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025216451-A1
Application number	US-202218848776-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 5, 2022
Priority date	Apr 5, 2022
Publication date	Jul 3, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of testing a packaging substrate with at least one electron beam column is described. The packaging substrate is a panel level packaging substrate or an advanced packaging substrate. The method includes: placing the packaging substrate on a stage in a vacuum chamber; directing an electron beam of the at least one electron beam column with a first landing energy on at least a first portion of the packaging substrate; directing the electron beam of the at least one electron beam column with a second landing energy different from the first landing energy on the packaging substrate; and detecting signal electrons emitted upon impingement of the electron beam for testing at least a first device-to-device electrical interconnect path of the packaging substrate.

First claim

1 . A method of testing a packaging substrate for multi-device in-package integration, with at least one electron beam column, the method comprising:
placing the packaging substrate on a stage in a vacuum chamber; directing an electron beam of the at least one electron beam column with a first landing energy on at least a first portion of the packaging substrate; directing the electron beam of the at least one electron beam column with a second landing energy different from the first landing energy on the packaging substrate; and detecting signal electrons emitted upon impingement of the electron beam for testing at least a first device-to-device electrical interconnect path of the packaging substrate.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein directing the electron beam with the second landing energy is provided on a second portion of the packaging substrate and the detecting of the signal electrons is provided upon impingement of the electron beam with the second landing energy.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the first portion and the second portion are different.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the second landing energy deviates by less than +−10% from a neutral energy value, the neutral energy value corresponding to a landing energy with a total electron yield of 1.

5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the directing of the electron beam with the first landing energy provides a first charge to the packing substrate, the method further comprises:
directing an electron beam of the at least one electron beam column with a third landing energy different from the first landing energy on at least a third portion of the packaging substrate, wherein the directing of the electron beam with the third landing energy provides a second charge to the packing substrate, the second charge having an opposite sign than the first charge.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
directing the electron beam of the at least one electron beam column with a fourth landing energy different from the first landing energy on the first portion of the packaging substrate for discharging of the first portion.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the electron beam is focused while directing the electron beam with the first landing energy, with the second landing energy, and for detecting the signal electrons.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
scanning the electron beam to one or more positions on the packaging substrate for charging and for detecting the signal electrons.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the packaging substrate comprises a plurality of device-to-device electrical interconnect paths extending between respective first surface contact points and second surface contact points, the method further comprising: testing the plurality of device-to-device electrical interconnect paths sequentially and/or in parallel.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the first surface contact points and the second surface contact points have a diameter of 25 μm or less.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the first surface contact points and the second surface contact points are formed as a metal pad covered by a solder bump having a diameter of 25 μm or less.

12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the first surface contact points and the second surface contact points have a three-dimensional topography.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the packaging substrate comprises 5.000 or more device-to-device electrical interconnect paths which are all tested.

14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
obtaining information about one or more electric potentials from an energy of the signal electrons; and determining from the information if the first device-to-device electrical interconnect path is defective.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein obtaining the information comprises:
energy filtering the signal electrons.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the testing comprises determining if the first device-to-device electrical interconnect path has one or more of the following defects: a short, an open, and/or a leakage.

17 . An apparatus for testing a packaging substrate in accordance with the method of claim 1 .

18 . An apparatus for contactless testing of a packaging substrate for multi-device in-package integration, comprising:
a vacuum chamber; a stage within the vacuum chamber, the stage being configured to support the packaging substrate; a charged particle beam column configured to generate an electron beam, the charged particle electron beam column comprising:
an objective lens configured to focus the electron beam on the packaging substrate;
a scan deflector configured to scan the electron beam to different positions on the packaging substrate;

an electron detector for detecting signal electrons emitted upon impingement of the electron beam on the packaging substrate; and
one or more power supplies to vary a landing energy of the electron beam; the apparatus further comprising:

an analysis unit for determining, based on the signal electrons, if a first device-to-device electrical interconnect path is defective.

19 . (canceled)

19 . The apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising:
a scan controller configured for directing the electron beam ( 111 ) of the charged particle electron beam column with a first landing energy on at least a first portion of the packaging substrate, the first portion comprising a surface contact point of a first device-to-device electrical interconnect path of the packaging substrate, wherein the electron beam is vector scanned to the surface contact point for charging the surface contact point: and wherein the scan controller is further configured for directing the electron beam of the charged particle beam column with a second landing energy different from the first landing energy on the packaging substrate.

20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first portion comprising a surface contact point of the first device-to-device electrical interconnect path ( 20 ) of the packaging substrate, wherein the electron beam is vector scanned to the surface contact point for charging the surface contact point.

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Mueller Bernhard G
• Knaub Nikolai
• Wenzel Axel
• Ledl Ludwig

Classifications

• G01R31/2896

  Testing of IC packages; Test features related to IC packages (containers per se H10W76/10, encapsulations per se H10W74/00) · CPC title

• G01R31/2893

  Handling, conveying or loading, e.g. belts, boats, vacuum fingers (G01R31/2867 takes precedence; handling semiconductor devices or wafers during manufacture or treatment H10P72/00) · CPC title

• G01R31/2894

  Aspects of quality control [QC] (G01R31/31718 takes precedence; program control for QC G05B19/41875) · CPC title

• G01R31/2653 Primary

  using electron beams · CPC title

• G01R31/2863

  Contacting devices, e.g. sockets, burn-in boards or mounting fixtures (in general G01R1/04) · CPC title