The analysis of the material to study the cause of its Failure or to study whether the material is capable to perform its final product function is known as Failure Analysis.

Microscopy can be used to visualize the physical appearance of the defect present on the material. That is why Optical Microscopy is one of the major techniques to study the surface of interest. Failure can be due to the presence of defects, cracks, fractures, and deformation, etc. For the observation of non-conformities on the circuit/ electronic assemblies the stereo microscopes are used. These non-conformities can be

• Voids/Cavities
• Damaged joints of solder
• Cracks
• Copper Leaching

 The inverted or reflective optical microscopes are highly used for the corrosion study of the samples which are not optically transparent.  The specimen that can be analyzed through a reflected light microscope can be polymers, metals, glass, coal, plastics, semiconductors, wood, etc.

The Confocal Scanning Optical Microscopy is another technique which is helpful to study the failure analysis in the semiconductor devices like Integrated circuits. The photocurrents are localized to produce images that show the failure locations. Here the photon-induced interaction is developed without any requirement of vacuum.  The images produced are known as optical beam induced current (OBIC).

The failure analysis studies using an optical microscope is a non-destructive technique. It provides the visual proof and the locations where the material has been affected leading to the cause of its failure.  LabAtoZ offers various types of optical microscopes to carry out these analysis, visit www.labatoz.com.