Breaking the Sensitivity and Speed Barriers of Quantum Diamond Magnetic Microscopy for Semiconductor Failure Analysis
Breaking the Sensitivity and Speed Barriers of Quantum Diamond Magnetic Microscopy for Semiconductor Failure Analysis
Wednesday, October 7, 2026: 10:40 AM
Summary:
The semiconductor industry faces an accelerating diagnostic crisis. As chip architectures evolve toward 3D stacking, chiplets, and advanced packaging — with defect rate requirements in the parts-per-billion range — the limitations of conventional failure analysis tools have become a fundamental bottleneck. Techniques such as lock-in thermography (LIT), optical beam-induced resistance change (OBIRCH), and photon emission microscopy (PEM) are surface-sensitive, thermally indirect, or limited to optically accessible structures. They cannot reliably image weak or buried current paths in 2.5D/3D packages. Here, we present the first semiconductor failure analysis results from a Quantum Diamond Magnetic Microscope (QDMM) that goes beyond current state-of-the-art quantum sensing systems, achieving up to 1000× greater magnetic sensitivity. The system images current-induced magnetic fields non-invasively with nanotesla-range sensitivity — directly mapping electrical activity inside live, packaged devices. In collaboration with Eurofins MASER, a leading European failure analysis laboratory, we present initial benchmarking of QDMM against LIT, OBIRCH, and PEM on both purpose-designed calibration chips and real-world industrial samples. Our early results indicate that QDMM provides complementary and, in several fault categories, superior diagnostic capability — particularly for low-current, buried, and thermally silent faults invisible to conventional methods.
The semiconductor industry faces an accelerating diagnostic crisis. As chip architectures evolve toward 3D stacking, chiplets, and advanced packaging — with defect rate requirements in the parts-per-billion range — the limitations of conventional failure analysis tools have become a fundamental bottleneck. Techniques such as lock-in thermography (LIT), optical beam-induced resistance change (OBIRCH), and photon emission microscopy (PEM) are surface-sensitive, thermally indirect, or limited to optically accessible structures. They cannot reliably image weak or buried current paths in 2.5D/3D packages. Here, we present the first semiconductor failure analysis results from a Quantum Diamond Magnetic Microscope (QDMM) that goes beyond current state-of-the-art quantum sensing systems, achieving up to 1000× greater magnetic sensitivity. The system images current-induced magnetic fields non-invasively with nanotesla-range sensitivity — directly mapping electrical activity inside live, packaged devices. In collaboration with Eurofins MASER, a leading European failure analysis laboratory, we present initial benchmarking of QDMM against LIT, OBIRCH, and PEM on both purpose-designed calibration chips and real-world industrial samples. Our early results indicate that QDMM provides complementary and, in several fault categories, superior diagnostic capability — particularly for low-current, buried, and thermally silent faults invisible to conventional methods.