Automated acoustic imaging of board-mounted components

Citation

(2000), "Automated acoustic imaging of board-mounted components", Microelectronics International, Vol. 17 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/mi.2000.21817bad.015

Automated acoustic imaging of board-mounted components

Keywords Sonoscan, Imaging, Nondestructive testing

The new D-24 populated-board imaging system (Plate 5) is now being shipped by Sonoscan, Inc. This innovative acoustic micro imaging (AMI) system nondestructively images mounted components for hidden internal defects.

Plate 5 D-24TM Sonoscan

Able to scan an area up to 24 inches by 24 inches (the board itself can be even larger), the D-24 uses a new, patented scanning mechanism to cover a scannable area four times greater than that of any previous AMI system.

Board-mounted IC packages, ceramic chip capacitors, and some types of resistors are among the components scanned. The system is most sensitive to gap-type internal defects such as delaminations, disbonds, voids, and cracks. It has two modes of operation:

1. 1.

   Single-image mode: when a board is populated with devices all having the same height and depth of interest, the D-24's single-image mode is used. In this mode, the entire board is scanned at once in high resolution showing internal features of all components.

2. 2.

   Multiple-image mode: boards having mixed components are scanned in the multiple-scan mode. Software guides the ultrasonic transducer to each component and adjusts imaging parameters for size, elevation, and depth of interest, Each component is displayed in its own high-resolution image.

Both imaging modes give assemblers the advantage of identifying and analyzing board-mounted components for internal packaging defects, many of which are not revealed by electrical tests.

For more information about the D-24, contact Steve Martell, Technical Marketing Manager, Sonoscan, Inc., 2149 East Pratt Blvd, Elk Grove Village, IL, USA, 60007. Tel: 847 437-6400; Fax: 847 437-1550; E-mail: info@sonoscan.com