Acoustic microscope

An instrument that utilizes focused acoustic waves to produce images of surface and sub-surface features in materials, and to measure elastic properties on a microscopic scale. It has been used to image and measure local elastic properties in metals, ceramics, semiconductor integrated circuits, polymeric materials, and biological materials including individual cells. The development of scanning probe microscopy has led to a new type of acoustic microscope capable of imaging elastic properties at nanometer resolution.

Scanning Acoustic Microscopy, commonly referred to as SAM or SAT (Scanning Acoustic Tomography) is unsurpassed in its ability to spot delaminations, cracks and other anomalies non-destructively. Not only does acoustic microscopy detect the failures but it also can provide the specific location of the problem. SAM high-resolution images and advanced diagnostic tools are used to:

• Diagnose device failures and discover failure "root causes"
• Monitor production sampling
• Qualify new package or production designs
• Research new materials or processes