The use of infrared thermography in electronics and electrical industry allows contactless measurement of surface temperatures with an infrared camera without contacting temperature sensors. It is an elegant, non-invasive optical temperature measurement method for simultaneous and temporally high-resolution detection of a number of measurement points.
The thermographic inspection of electronic components and assemblies is an established test procedure for failure detection and quality management – from the development of first prototypes to serial production. This enables, for example, the following to be detected:
Hotspots and atypical temperature distributions on the surface of printed circuit boards, integrated circuits and multichip modules
Increased contact resistances
Increased resistance due to constriction of wires
Hidden cracks in joints
Power losses due to RF mismatch
Incorrect thermal connections of heat sinks
Short circuits, soldering defects such as cold solder joints
Thermographic analysis during each development step provides important conclusions for the optimisation of heat management and the design of complex electronic assemblies. In electronics production thermographic temperature measurement is used as a versatile instrument for quality assurance. High-performance thermography has become indispensable for setting critical technological parameters and their permanent monitoring as well as for inline testing of products in the production process and their final functional test.
Failure analysis and defect inspection, quality and process control and flexible R&D solution
Hotspot detection on printed circuit boards, integrated circuits, semiconductor material and multi-chip modules
Detection of faulty thermal connections of heat sinks, short circuits, soldering defects and wire bonding errors
Complementary technical lecture Semiconductor IR-LIT Analytics – Challenges and Case Studies from Marko Hoffmann; Infineon Technologies Dresden GmbH & Co. KG
Active thermography for non-destructive testing
Synchronizing high-tech sensors: ZEISS/GOM ARAMIS and infrared cameras from InfraTec
Tracking of temperature on homologous points in 3D space
Applications in materials, components and electronic testing
Complementary technical lecture "The IGI EcoMapper – High-Precision Aerial Survey in Five Spectral" from Dr. rer. nat. Jens Kremer, Manager R&D, IGI mbH, Germany
What are the physical characteristics of micro-thermography?
What are the technical requirements for an IR camera system?
Which selection criteria are important and relevant?
In which application areas is micro-thermography used?
Challenges of electronics testing
Improvement of electronics design and thermal management by understanding heat
Thermography in the various phases of electronics development and production
Important and relevant selection criteria
Special features and the potential of high-speed thermal imaging
Presentation of technical solutions and InfraTec camera models
Explanation of important parameters and their influence on thermal imaging
Presentation of various functions to adapt your camera to the application requirements
Efficient quality control through fast, contactless temperature measurement during ongoing production
Flexible system solutions from modular components to fully customized turnkey setups
Integrated software for automated evaluation, documentation, and triggering of follow-up processes
Influences neither the RF impedance of the measurement object nor the heat dissipation of the same, which serves the safe avoidance of corresponding measurement errors
Allows safe temperature measurement even on live working parts
Complete recording of the temperature distribution and its temporal course of complex assemblies
Highest spatial resolution by using measurement systems with detectors with a very high number of pixels and opto-mechanical MicroScan unit
Resolution of smallest geometrical structures using close up lenses and infrared microscope lenses
Detection of smallest temperature differences using cooled photon detectors and lock-in measurement methods
Easy-to-use analysis and documentation of measurement results with powerful analysis software
up to (1,920 × 1,536) native IR pixels for testing complex assemblies
with pixel sizes up to < 1 μm using specific microscopic lenses
between defective and intact structures in the range of a few micro-Kelvin due to high thermal resolution up to < 0.015 K in combination with the lock-in method
of up to ± 1 °C or 1 % for accurate measurement results
Depending on the respective task, users can get the equipment configured meeting their specific needs. The starting point will usually be the thermographic camera. Cooled or uncooled detector? Which detector format? Shall the thermographic system support lock-in thermography? How much flexibility is desired for the distance between the measurement object and the camera? What influence does this have on the choice of microscopic lenses and close-ups? Depending on what the answers to these questions will be, InfraTec can offer thermographic systems of various performance levels - from the individual camera to the automated modular E-LIT test bench.
The principle of non-contact thermographic temperature measurement allows the error-free determination of the temperature of small objects with small heat capacity. This is often impossible, however, even when using the smallest contacting temperature sensors, as their heat dissipation frequently falsifies the measurement results. In many cases, the use of thermocouples is impossible due to the design or function of the circuit itself. In addition, the structures of electronic measurement objects are sometimes so small that temperature sensors cannot be attached to them.
However, thermographic systems with a high spatial resolution are able to make such small structures clearly visible and, in addition, to determine their exact temperature distribution along with their chronological sequence. By means of specific close-ups and powerful infrared microscopic lenses, users can thermographically measure hotspots of just a few micrometres in size on the surface of components such as semiconductor components. If SIL lenses (Solid Immersion Lenses) are additionally used, even smaller structure sizes can be detected. In combination with appropriate active thermography methods (lock-in thermography), temperature differences in the µK range are clearly visible for failure localisation.
InfraTec offers matching lenses and cameras with cooled and uncooled detectors with native resolutions up to (1,920 × 1,536) IR pixels. With MicroScan – available for cameras with both cooled and uncooled detectors - the spatial resolution can be further improved. The thermograms obtained in this way ensure that components and assemblies are depicted down to the smallest detail and that failures can be precisely detected and localised. Thermal images with an enormous spatial resolution of a few megapixels pay off especially for complex assemblies, where many structures can be captured simultaneously on the respective measurement and test object. If the pixel number of the detector of the used camera is too small, the number of images required for the complete acquisition of the measurement object increases.
Download our electronic guide “Electronics / Electrical Engineering” and get further information about thermography systems for use in development and production.