edfas.org ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 26 NO. 2 8 thermal conductance of components, but also to locate hot spots on a microscopic scale. In addition to the installation of test benches, the measurement concept is presented. Three examples demonstrate the SThM’s ability to perform thermal analysis on a microscopic scale. Thanks to its ability to detect defects embedded in a matrix and hot spots localized on the sample surface, and its sensitivity to the thickness of thin layers on the substrate, SThM could be used as a powerful tool for analyzing printed circuit boards and electronic devices with high spatial resolution, during the development cycle, failure analysis during and after manufacture, and during operation. Complementing other instruments such as the transmission x-ray microscope, scanner, and electron probe micro-analyzer, it could help identify and understand failure points, inspect the appearance of defective areas, and correctly understand the physical properties of microscopic structures. This article also demonstrated a new combined SThM-SEM instrument by measuring a suspended nanostructure. Further work will focus on measuring temperature along a self-heated nanowire. REFERENCES 1. S. Gomès, A. Assy, and P.-O. Chapuis: “Scanning Thermal Microscopy: A Review,” Phys. Status Solidi A, 2015, 212, p. 477-494. 2. J.M. Sojo-Gordillo, et al.: “Local Heat Dissipation and Elasticity of Suspended Silicon Nanowires Revealed by Dual Scanning Electron and Thermal Microscopies,” Small, 2023, p. 2305831. 3. E. Guen, et al.: “Scanning Thermal Microscopy on Samples of Varying Effective Thermal Conductivities and Identical Flat Surfaces,” Journal of Applied Physics, 2020, 128(23), p. 235301. 4. W. Sun, et al.: “Investigation of the Thermal Conductivity En- hancement Mechanism of Polymer Composites with Carbon-based Fillers by Scanning Thermal Microscopy,” AIP Advances, 2022, 12(10), p. 105303. 5. D. Renahy, A. Assy, and S. Gomès: “A Combined SThM/SEM Instrument for the Investigation of Influent Parameters in Nano-scale Thermal Contact,” International Workshop on THERMAL INVESTIGATIONS of ICs and Systems, 2015, THERMINIC, 30 September 2015. Fig. 6 SThM analysis of a suspended Si nanowire (NW).[2] Top, approach curves along the NW in terms of thermal conductance of the probe as a function of distance between the probe-apex and NW. Bottom, identification of the Si NW’s thermal conductivity. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Séverine Gomès obtained her European doctorate in physics from the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne in France in 1999. She began her career as a CNRS researcher at the Centre d’énergie et de thermique de Lyon (CETHIL) at the French National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) in France in 2000. She has received two awards: The CNRS Bronze Medal in 2015 for her promising early work in scanning probe thermal microscopy and the European Star from the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation in 2018 for her successful management of the four-year European collaborative project “QUANTItative scanning probe microscopy techniques for HEAT transfer management in nanomaterials and nano-devices (QUANTIHEAT).” In 2018, she became a CNRS professor at CETHIL. Since 2020, she has been coordinator of a French scientific working group on thermal nano-metrology. In cooperation with national and international universities, she regularly supervises master and doctoral students.
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