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Scanning Acoustic Microscopy

Acoustic microscopy offers the unique advantage of non-destructive examination of a sample’s internal structure, making it especially valuable for materials that are opaque to infrared and X-ray methods. By measuring variations in acoustic impedance within the specimen, this technique generates clear contrasts that reveal hidden features. One notable property is the complete reflection of sound waves at air inclusions, producing bright signals and phase shifts. As a result, acoustic microscopy is highly effective in identifying material defects such as microcracks, inclusions, gas bubbles, and delamination, supporting quality assurance and advanced materials analysis.

 

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The process

Acoustic microscopy leverages the pulse-echo principle, where a high-frequency acoustic probe emits and receives rapid ultrasonic pulses. The probe, equipped with a piezoelectric element, transforms electromagnetic signals into precise ultrasonic waves, which are directed onto the sample through a coupling medium such as water or deionized water. The sound waves are focused onto the sample, and reflections from internal structures are collected by the probe. An advanced trigger interface orchestrates the transmission and reception cycles, enabling detailed, non-invasive imaging of the sample’s interior.

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SAM system with multiple transducers inspecting a semiconductor wafer.

Key Application Areas

With high-frequency ultrasound, SAM covers the full manufacturing chain: from wafer inspection and power device inspection to metrology of today's most advanced semiconductor packaging architectures. The following sections outline these key application areas in which SAM provides decisive added value throughout the entire manufacturing chain.

Array of scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) transducers aligned above a sample surface for high‑precision, non‑destructive inspection.

Precision from the first step

Wafer Inspection

SAM detects subsurface defects such as delaminations, voids, and micro-cracks in wafers at an early stage — invisible to optical methods. High-frequency ultrasound ensures reliable inspection of thin layers and fine structures.

Applications: Silicon, SiC, and compound semiconductor wafers before or after critical process steps such as thinning, dicing, or epitaxy.

Close‑up of a scanning acoustic microscopy process

For high‑performance modules

Power Device Inspection

SAM analyzes the mechanical integrity of multilayer structures in power devices — detecting delaminations, cracks, porosity, and voids in die-attach layers, DBC/AMB substrates, and packaging interfaces to ensure lifetime and thermal performance.

Applications: Power modules for automotive, industrial, and e-mobility, as well as SiC power components.

For the next performance generation

Advanced Packaging Inspection

SAM enables high-resolution inspection of fine structures such as micro-bumps, TSVs, underfill interfaces, and interposer layers — ensuring the integrity of electrical interconnects in 2.5D/3D chip architectures.

Applications: High-performance chips, HBM stacks, CoWoS/SoIC packages, and flip-chip architectures.

Relevant industries

Energy

Scanning acoustic microscopy enables reliable, non-destructive inspection of power electronics and semiconductor components for the energy industry, ensuring quality and safety for critical applications. This technology detects internal defects such as delaminations, voids, cracks, and bonding issues in modules like IGBT, heat sinks, thin film layers, and advanced semiconductor devices.

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Automotive

Non-destructive, comprehensive testing is essential for safety-critical automotive assemblies and components. As electric mobility advances, new technologies and power electronics in cars, ICEs, and trains must meet stringent quality standards. Our systems check compound materials, power electronics, sensors, control devices, seals, and welded, soldered, and sintered connections.

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Semiconductor

Our systems provide non-destructive structural mapping to detect defects and connection errors in semiconductor production, supporting applications from frontend to backend. Typical checks include wafers, SiC and Si ingots, MEMS, die structures, microprocessors, LEDs, flip chips, power electronics, bonded interfaces, CMOS sensors, molded and passive components, and packaging.

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Medical

Non-destructive acoustic microscopy reveals subsurface structures in medical samples without pretreatment, enabling reliable, high-quality analysis of implants, bones, tissue, cells, thrombus formation, and teeth. Ongoing collaboration with leading research institutes ensures continuous technological advancement for medical applications.

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Acoustic Microscopy. Engineered for Excellence.

From laboratory instruments through to semi-automated devices all the way to fully automated systems, by combining ground-breaking technologies and sophisticated engineering solutions, we develop high-performance acoustic microscopes and software that can be optimized to suit your investigation requirements and materials. Our versatile SAM product lines are characterized by intuitive analysis technologies — made in Germany with an unmatched price-performance ratio.

The basis of our ultrasound technology forms a common component platform, which is completed by application-specific modules for individual solutions. They differ in terms of their hardware (optionally expandable), scanner type and its travel, as well as the transducer. As a matter of principle, our transducers are compatible with all systems.

Beyond SAM systems, our expertise extends to advanced Ultrasonic NDT systems designed for larger, complex components and industrial inspection tasks. These systems build on the same core ultrasound platform while offering multi‑axis motion, expanded scan envelopes, and application‑specific automation for high‑precision evaluation across diverse part geometries.

 

To our Ultrasonic NDT systems

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Lab worker operates scanning acoustic microscopy process in a clean, bright laboratory while another person walks in the background.

The systems at a glance

SAM Lab system shown from the front

SAM Lab

The SAM Lab offers easy-to-operate scanning acoustic microscopes for process control, quality assurance, and research applications. Each model is built on an industry-standard component platform utilizing leading production and manufacturing technologies.

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SAM Auto-Wafer system from the front with monitor

SAM Auto Wafer

The SAM Auto Wafer series is a dedicated, non-destructive system for automated wafer inspection and process control. Sample analysis using four dual array transducers enables high-resolution acoustic investigations with high throughput, leveraging new high-frequency and transducer technologies with frequencies up to 400 MHz and pulser repetition rates of up to 80 kHz.

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PVA TePla Auto-Tray system featuring an enclosed automated handling unit with robotic mechanisms for loading and transferring trays.

SAM Auto Tray

The manufacturing of electronic devices, printed circuit boards, IGBT modules, and other complex components critically depends on bonding, soldering, and potting processes. SAM Auto Tray enables non-destructive inspection of these components for related defects.

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Automated scanning acoustic microscopy system for high‑volume panel inspection.

SAM Auto Panel

The SAM Auto Panel is specifically designed for process control in semiconductor manufacturing, with a particular focus on monitoring panel-level packaging (PLP) and panel-based semiconductor technologies, as well as other complex components.

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Interested in scanning acoustic microscopy?

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