Integrated Circuit Super-Resolution Failure Analysis with Solid Immersion Lenses

Researchers at Boston University have made significant improvements in the resolution that can be achieved with backside imaging techniques. In this article, they explain how they optimize lateral and longitudinal resolution of IR-based methods using aplanatic solid immersion lenses in combination with adaptive optics that correct for aberrations, interferometry to improve signal-to-noise ratios, vortex beams that overcome diffraction limitations, and image reconstruction techniques based on prior knowledge about the objects under investigation.