Shimpei Tominaga

The emergence of three-dimensional (3D) semiconductor devices has increased the importance of thermal imaging techniques. We present a dual-capability system combining thermo-reflectance and thermal lock-in imaging (LIT) for high-speed, highly sensitive thermal analysis. We evaluate the hotspot detection capabilities of two-wavelength thermo-reflectance compared to LIT, including results from actual failure analysis cases. Our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of thermo-reflectance detection (TD) imaging for 3D devices where direct optical access to active layers is limited, such as 3D NAND flash memory and BSP-DN structured devices. This approach offers a promising solution for the thermal characterization of complex 3D semiconductor architectures.

Shimpei Tominaga got his bachelor’s degree in science from Shinshu University. He joined the HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS K.K. in 2017, he began his career as an application engineer of semi-conductor failure analysis. Since 2022, he has been R&D Group System Technology Systems Division to develop failure analysis equipment. He focuses on failure analysis for advanced devices such as BS-PDN where active layer is sandwiched by signal metal layers and power metal layers. Shimpei was a speaker at several semi-conductor conference (ISTFA etc.). He also (co)authored several articles and patents.