Elk Grove Village IL, April 12, 2006—Sonoscan, Inc., the designer and maker of acoustic microscope systems, has been granted US Patent #6,895,820 covering the firm’s Virtual Rescanning Module™ (VRM™).
The VRM technique permits engineers to acquire and save all of the acoustic echo data from the entire volume of a part such as an integrated circuit (IC) package. The saved digital file can later be rescanned to make acoustic images as though the file were the physical IC package.
Because VRM lets engineers “have their cake and eat it too,” it is widely used to preserve data about parts before they go into production or into testing. After a part has been altered by heat, testing, or other factors, it is no longer “too late” to examine the part in its original condition.
Specific VRM techniques have already evolved in key production areas. In advanced flip chip production, for example, VRM is used along with the patented Sonoscan method for Frequency Domain Imaging (FDI) to perform very high resolution non-destructive analysis of critical flip chip interfaces.
For more information, contact:
Steve Martell, technical marketing manager
Sonoscan, Inc.
2149 East Pratt Blvd.
Elk Grove Village IL 60007
Phone 847 437-6400
E-mail: info@sonoscan.com
www.sonoscan.com
Caption for accompanying VRM image: “VRM images are made from data files and, like this image of a PQFP with a popcorn crack, are indistinguishable from acoustic images made from the physical sample."
About Sonoscan: Sonoscan is the leading developer and manufacturer of acoustic microscopy systems, widely used for non-destructive imaging and analysis of internal features. For over 30 years, Sonoscan’s attention to customer needs and investment in R&D has created systems that set industry standards for accuracy. Key products include C-SAM® systems for off-line and laboratory work, and FACTS2™ for automated production inspection. Sonoscan engineers, with a total of more than two centuries’ experience in acoustic microscopy, conduct frequent workshops and seminars. SonoLab™, a division of Sonoscan, operates applications laboratories in 5 global locations.
