The D-9500 C-Mode Scanning Acoustic Microscope (C-SAM) system. (Photo: Sonoscan)

July 9, 2007 — Sonoscan, Elk Grove Village, Ill., has unveiled an update to its popular C-SAM acoustic microscope system. The D-9500 replaces the earlier D-9000 and targets failure analysis, product development, material characterization, and low-volume production.

Its maximum scan area has been increased to accommodate a great number of parts at once — two JEDEC-size trays of parts, for example, or a 300mm wafer. In addition, improved lighting and enhanced access to the scan area have enabled easier loading and handling of samples.

Like the D-9000, the D-9500 uses Sonoscan’s proprietary processing algorithms and acoustic transducers to provide what the company calls the highest levels of accuracy and sensitivity available, along with the highest throughput. Proprietary software tools maintain the accuracy of echo polarity and depth data, a feat of precision that, according to Sonoscan, competing systems cannot achieve.

A patented, inertially balanced scanner (that virtually eliminates vibration and runs quietly) promises speedy imaging. Resolution is selectable up to 64 megapixels, with precision of ±0.5 micron. The D-9500’s Q-BAM mode enables acoustic cross sections that are nondestructive but are “as informative as destructive cross sections.”