Patent ID: 6453063
Filing Date: 2002-09-17
Classification: G01N,H01J

Abstract:
A method of imaging an integrated circuit comprising the steps of:disposing the integrated circuit on a support for securing the integrated circuit in fixed relation to the support; iterating the following steps until a predetermined portion of the integrated circuit is imaged; using a focused ion beam imaging system for providing a focused ion beam, imaging a portion of an outer surface of the integrated circuit by capturing a plurality of images of different locations on the integrated circuit, relative motion between the support and the focused ion beam in a direction parallel to the plane of the image occurring between image capture operations, and, etching a portion of the outer surface from the integrated circuit to expose material below the outer surface using an etching system to provide image markers, the etching being performed with the integrated circuit secured in fixed relation to the support; and, forming a composite image of an imaged outer surface of the integrated circuit in which the images of different locations partially overlap one another, and a composite image of the outer surface is formed in dependence upon the image marker locations and orientations.