High spatial and temporal resolution thermal imaging for LSI circuits with phase microscopy

A new thermal imaging method that senses the change in Si index of refraction as a function of temperature to visualize temperature distributions of LSI circuits is described. The resolution is not limited by the heat radiation wavelength but by the sensing light source, which is usually around 1μm. The method further extends the application into the areas that require both high spatial and temporal resolution by utilizing a pulsed light source.