An X-Ray Tomography Primer

X-ray tomography has been rapidly gaining acceptance in the semiconductor industry since the first demonstration of its use on IC interconnect in 1999. As failure analysts are discovering, X-ray imaging is more powerful than visible light microscopy and can be used to analyze larger samples than those that fit in an electron microscope. This article provides an introduction to the physics, signal processing, and algorithms involved in X-ray imaging and tomography and the factors that affect resolution.