Fast Etching of Molding Compound by an Ar/O2/CF4 Plasma and Process Improvements for Semiconductor Package Decapsulation

Decapsulation of a SOT23 semiconductor package with 23 um copper wire bonds is conducted with an especially designed microwave induced plasma system. It is found that a 30%-60% CF4 addition in the O2/CF4 etchant gas results in high molding compound etching rate. Si3N4 overetching which is encountered in plasma decapsulation is solved by an...

Plasma Etching for Failure Analysis of Integrated Circuit Packages

Plastic integrated circuit packages with copper wire bonds are decapsulated by a Microwave Induced Plasma system. Improvements on microwave coupling of the system are achieved by frequency tuning and antenna modification. Plasmas with a mixture of O2 and CF4 showed a high etching rate around 2 mm3/min. The role of O2 and CF4 in etching molding...