Patent ID: 7892978

Claim:
A method of diagnosing a problem in a structure, comprising: positioning an integrated circuit having a structure to be evaluated in a vacuum chamber; creating a layer of a reactive material a selected distance above and in proximity with a surface of the integrated circuit; exciting a portion of the layer of reactive material a selected distance above and in proximity to the structure to be evaluated to form chemical radicals above and in proximity to the surface of the structure to be evaluated; removing a portion of the surface of the integrated circuit in proximity to the structure to be evaluated to a selected level to evaluate an exposed electrical structure of the integrated circuit; and continuing the creating, exciting and removing steps until a stop criterion occurs, wherein the exposed electrical structure is evaluated to determine the presence or absence of a potential problem by at least one of a shear strength test, a vibration test, a turbulence test, a tilt test, an adhesion test, a thermal cycle test, an environmental test, and an electrical test.