Ion beam polishing for embedded cross-sections and its advantages for FESEM analysis in electronic packaging

Microstructural diagnostics for electronic packaging development and failure analysis under industrial manufacturing conditions require fast but reliable preparation routines which result in samples of high quality without preparation artefacts. The aim of the presented paper is to introduce a time- and cost efficient ion beam-based preparation procedure for high resolution Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis for packaging components. In particular, the considerable advantages of the proposed method compared to standard metallographic approaches will be demonstrated by discussing results of typical failure analysis examples as a function of the preparation procedure.