Publications Details
Fluorescent microthermographic imaging
In the early days of microelectronics, design rules and feature sizes were large enough that sub-micron spatial resolution was not needed. Infrared or IR thermal techniques were available that calculated the object`s temperature from infrared emission. There is a fundamental spatial resolution limitation dependent on the wavelengths of light being used in the image formation process. As the integrated circuit feature sizes began to shrink toward the one micron level, the limitations imposed on IR thermal systems became more pronounced. Something else was needed to overcome this limitation. Liquid crystals have been used with great success, but they lack the temperature measurement capabilities of other techniques. The fluorescent microthermographic imaging technique (FMI) was developed to meet this need. This technique offers better than 0.01{degrees}C temperature resolution and is diffraction limited to 0.3 {mu}m spatial resolution. While the temperature resolution is comparable to that available on IR systems, the spatial resolution is much better. The FMI technique provides better spatial resolution by using a temperature dependent fluorescent film that emits light at 612 nm instead of the 1.5 {mu}m to 12 {mu}m range used by IR techniques. This tutorial starts with a review of blackbody radiation physics, the process by which all heated objects emit radiation to their surroundings, in order to understand the sources of information that are available to characterize an object`s surface temperature. The processes used in infrared thermal imaging are then detailed to point out the limitations of the technique but also to contrast it with the FMI process. The FMI technique is then described in detail, starting with the fluorescent film physics and ending with a series of examples of past applications of FMI.