Infrared Thermography in Electronics and Electrical Engineering
Complex electronic assemblies combine a multitude of different components in a very small space. Miniaturisation, despite the tendency to reduce power dissipation, increases the demands for thermal management, error-free operation and compliance with process parameters in production. Infrared thermography is used for the efficient recording of temperature distribution and time sequences. The optical method is used for non-contact measurement of surface temperatures and does not influence the RF impedance of the measured object or the heat dissipation from it.
Thermography Systems – from Development to Quality Assurance
Thermographic analyses of electronic components and assemblies are already important during the development of the first prototypes. During every step of the development, they provide important conclusions for the optimisation of thermal management and the design of complex electronic assemblies.
In electronics production, thermographic temperature measurement is used for quality assurance, among other methods. Thermography offers decisive advantages both in the setting of critical technological parameters and their permanent monitoring, as well as in the inline testing of products against a golden board and the final functional test. InfraTec’s automated inspection system E-LIT can detect even the smallest thermal defects on semiconductor materials. A special lock-in procedure and a powerful infrared camera ensure shortest inspection times.
By means of lock-in analysis procedure of InfraTec’s IRBIS® 3 active, errors that only cause mK or μK deviations can be reliably detected and assigned to their location:
Reliable Localisation and Detailed Imaging of Thermal Abnormalities
Modern high-end infrared cameras have a high number of pixels, which is crucial for the recognition of the smallest details. The analysis of complex assemblies and individual components requires a technology with high geometric and thermographic resolution, which allows an exact, non-invasive measurement of temperatures, temperature distributions and their temporal progressions, even on the smallest structures.
To meet these special requirements InfraTec offers thermography systems of different performance classes and spectral ranges with detector formats up to (1,920 × 1,536) IR pixels. These can be equipped with a variety of lenses. This way, several microscope lenses can be selected in combination with Solid Immersion Lenses (SIL). If required, the ImageIR ® and VarioCAM® High Definition series models can be combined with a motorised focus unit, which enables precise and stable focusing. The analysis and evaluation of the measurement results is similarly conveniently carried out by using the thermography software IRBIS® 3. All InfraTec systems are offered with this software.
InfraTec has developed the IRBIS® 3 active thermography software especially for active thermography. This software detects temperature differences down to the microkelvin microkelvin range and helps to reliably distinguish defective structures from intact ones. Its complex evaluation algorithms offer an excellent basis for the determination of reliable results. Depending on the respective task, InfraTec specifically assembles the appropriate equipment for the user.
