Full chip optical imaging of logic state evolution in CMOS circuits

Measuring the logic state switching of individual devices in present and future sub-micron scale CMOS circuits poses substantial challenges. Here we show that hot electron light emission is generated as a subnanosecond pulse coincident with the normal switching of each individual FET in a CMOS circuit. This emission can be used to directly measure the propagation of signals through the individual gates in fully-functional CMOS circuits.