Academy for Continuing Education (ACE)

Ever wondered how imaging and characterisation tools work to provide insights on device failure?

Participants of this introductory course will be equipped with fundamental knowledge on microscopy and thin film characterisation for failure analysis. There will also be hands-on opportunities and demonstrations during lesson to facilitate learning.

Upon completion, participants will be better able to understand the working principles and applications of microscopes and thin film characterisation tools for failure analysis.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explain how microscopy and thin film characterisation are commonly used in the semiconductor, manufacturing, and coating industries

• Understand the working principles and differences of various microscopes and thin film characterisation tools for an effective failure analysis

• Demonstrate an understanding for a) various types of microscopes (such as optical and electron microscopes) and recognise the relationship among magnification, resolution, and depth of field for an effective imaging; b) various thin film characterisation tools (such as ellipsometer and four-point probe) to obtain important properties of thin film or coating

Who Should Attend?

Engineering or technical personnel who are interested to learn about microscopy and thin film characterisation tools for failure analysis.

Entry Requirement

Participants are expected to be familiar with the general operation of a personal computer (PC) or Macintosh (MAC), such as browsing the internet, opening, and saving files, etc.

Certification

Participants will be awarded a certificate of completion upon meeting the 75% course attendance requirement.

For courses with formal assessment component, participants will be awarded the certification of completion upon passing the assessment. Otherwise, a certification of attendance will be issued instead upon meeting the 75% course attendance requirement.

Trainer's Profile

Mr. Lau Gih Sheng joined Republic Polytechnic (RP) in 2008 and is currently a senior lecturer in the School of Engineering under the Diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. As an educator, he developed a module on measurement techniques and failure analysis for both full-time and part-time students.

Prior to joining RP, Mr. Lau was a Materials Science and Characterisation Laboratory Research Fellow in the Institute of Materials Research & Engineering at A*STAR. Between 2002 to 2005, he worked on multiple materials characterisations as well as research and development projects involving thin film coatings.

Mr. Lau is also experienced in Failure Analysis (FA). He was employed by Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Limited where he worked as a Senior Process Integration Engineer for two years and spent significant time in the FA department performing failure analysis.