High resolution 3D imaging of bump-bonds by means of synchrotron radiation computed laminography

During the flip-chip bonding process of a semiconductor sensor onto readout electronics, a formation of defects may take place, like solder joint displacements, voids, cracks, pores and bridges. This may result in blind spots on the detector, which are insensitive to photons and thus reduce the detector performance. In this work, the flip-chip interconnections of selected CdTe and GaAs Medipix detectors were investigated by synchrotron radiation computed laminography at a micrometer scale. The analysis of the volume rendering proved the presence of voids in the CdTe sensor flip-chip interconnections, with sizes between 3 μm and 9 μm. These voids can be harmful for the long term use of the device, because their presence weakens the adhesive strength between a contact and the readout electronics. Consequently, their formation needs to be avoided. The GaAs Medipix detectors investigated include two sensors that were produced with different flip-chip methods. The comparison of the 3D renderings of the bump-bond interconnections in the two GaAs sensors demonstrated the presence of a misalignment in the range of 5–12 μm between pixel passivation and bump-bonds in the detector produced with an older technique. In contrast to this, no misalignment was observed for the most recently produced detector. The only remarkable observation is the presence of ``satellites'' of solder that do not compromise the detector operation.