X-ray inspection-induced latent damage in DRAM

For quality verification, an X-ray inspection process is commonly being used for evaluating obscured and defective solder joints in surface mount technologies such as BGA's and flip chips. Integrated circuits subjected to any form of radiation, ionizing or non-ionizing, may incur some amount of damage depending on the absorbed dose. Though most X-ray inspections for high-quality imaging require ionizing dose amounts that are considered inconsequential for device failure or non-functionality, the degree of latent damage must be carefully considered. This paper discusses X-ray induced vulnerabilities of high-density DRAM exposed to low ionizing radiation levels typical in X-ray inspection systems. We look at critical parameters and their sensitivity in relation to varying dose amounts of X-ray irradiation. In consideration of different methodologies of reducing radiation dose amounts and limiting device exposure, we propose a procedure for attenuating potentially harmful X-ray radiation levels while preserving quality images.