Merry Christmas 2023 – It’s been a Quality Year adding these exciting new Capabilities

Closure times – NanoScope is closed from 20th December 2023 to the 5th January 2024

Our big company NEWS is that we are now ISO 9001:2015 Certified

• In our bid to improve our services on all fronts, we are very proud to have achieved ISO 9001 certification at the end of 2023 – more details to follow.
• We have already implemented our Quality Management System so you may spot these changes when you use us next.

Our NEW microscope this year is a Sonoscan D24 Acoustic Microscope (large area CSAM).

• this state-of-the-art CSAM is already providing pre- and post- JEDEC Reliability checks for stress testing batches of devices (inc MSL testing)
• its providing checks for voids in complex planar sandwiches of materials – like polymers and metals
• it is also used as a Failure Analysis diagnostic tool for on-board packaging as a compliment to our X-ray capability.

Our New Technique this year is our Plasma FIB Capability.

We can offer ThermoFisher Hydra capabilities to our customers now including

• Xe for rapid milling of large sections – up to 100’s of μm in size/depth
• Ar for low kV polishing of (S)TEM sections
• and FEG SEM for high resolution imaging and Analysis in-situ.

Lastly our new Sample Preparation Technique is Mechanical Grinding and Polishing.

As boards and modules get smaller and more complex, the boundary between substrate and die requires more advanced investigation, so the need for accurate mechanical sectioning as a starting point for any structural analysis becomes increasingly important.

• Good Mechanical prep is more often the starting point for a Plasma or Gallium FIB section. (Section of a Section or Section²)
• Physical prep requires skill and we have learned from the best and established a support network of experts as well.
• We have confidence in our world class preparation for plastic parts, populated PCB’s, Solder joints and mirror finish back-thinning Si devices for advanced FA imaging.

Also a big thank you if you worked with us, for another successful year.  We are excited by our plans for 2024 and hope you will be part of them.