Patent ID: 8077305

Claim:
A system for imaging subsurface features of a target object comprising a semiconductor-based material having first and second surfaces, and a subsurface therebetween, the system comprising: a solid-state sensor having an array of pixels and a sufficient quantum efficiency for wavelengths between about 750 nm and about 3000 nm to image subsurface structures or structure features in the semiconductor material illuminated by radiation wavelength between about 750 nm and about 3000 nm, when a portion of the radiation that illuminated the subsurface is incident on the image sensor; and a solid-state radiation source operable with a radiation output in the aforesaid wavelength range, wherein the radiation source and the image sensor are arranged in the system so that the output radiation penetrates through material forming the first and/or second surface and into underlying subsurface material, and is thereafter directed to the sensor.