Ever wish you could spy on your semiconductors and make sure they're behaving
properly? Now you can with Toshiba Teli's CS3930UV (see
the figure).
Made specifically for the detailed surface inspection of semiconductors (wafer inspection and lithography), factory automation precision applications, and solder inspection, this camera uses near-ultraviolet light to see superficial defects that may include small scratches, dust, and blemishes, each of which can adversely impact the quality of the finished product. One spec of dust can ruin a die, and a surface scratch can render all dies in the path of the scratch useless.
The camera technology is based on a 0.5-in. progressive scan charge-coupled
device (CCD) that's sensitive to light levels below the visible spectrum (up
to 240 nm). Since near-ultraviolet light doesn't penetrate surfaces, it's ideal
for semiconductor inspection. It provides measurement accuracy approximately
twice that of standard machine vision cameras operating with white or red light.
This is the same technology used in cameras that read ultraviolet patterns embedded
in bank notes and other tamperproof documents.
The CS3930UV provides high-resolution, 1.5-Mpixel (1392 by 1040 pixels, at a rate of 7.62 frames/s) performance by adopting Megapixel CCD technology. A square grid pattern overlaps the image to make performing computations correctly for image processing easier and faster.
A built-in trigger shudder lets the camera capture images at specific times at shudder speeds ranging from 1/30 s to 1/10,000 s. An EIA-644 single-channel, 10-bit, low-voltage differential-signal (LVDS) digital output also is available.
Toshiba Teli provides several industrial camera solutions. The CS3930UV lists
for $2999, with immediate availability.
Toshiba Teli America Inc.
www.toshiba-teli.com