Our Newest Investigative Tool

Keyence EA-300 Laser-based Elemental Analyzer

Getting to the bottom of a reliability issue is all about the depth of observation. The answers being sought may lie at the surface, or may be complex and below the surface. The tools Foresite has to offer can make observing a failure, and its root causes, easier than ever before—regardless of where it lies.

Over the last several years, Foresite has invested in multiple imaging systems from Keyence, a worldwide leader in digital microscope technology. Foresite is now one of the first laboratories in the country with the Keyence EA-300 Laser-based Elemental Analyzer.

How It Works

This groundbreaking instrument utilizes LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy), wherein a laser is focused to form a plasma, which atomizes and excites electrons in the sample. After that, emitted light is analyzed to determine the quantity of an element in a sample.

A typical detection limit of LIBS for heavy metallic elements is in the low-PPM range. The LIBS uses a wide range of sample matrices that include metals, semiconductors, glasses, biological tissues, insulators, plastics, soils, plants, soils, thin-paint coating, and electronic materials. This new tool allows for SEM/EDS comparable elemental analysis in situ, instantly, with no sample prep.

High-magnification inspection during the discovery phase of a failure analysis is standard procedure in our lab—now we can perform elemental analysis seamlessly as part of this process with just a few mouse-clicks. This capability is a powerful way to streamline the process of discovery and inform further analysis.

Advantages of this new tool:

• A sample preparation-free measurement experience—no need for cutting, conductivity treatment, or use of a vacuum

• Fast measurement time, usually a few seconds, for a single spot analysis

• Broad elemental coverage, including lighter elements, such as H, Be, Li, C, N, O, Na, and Mg (comparable to EDS analysis)

• Versatile sampling protocols that include fast raster of the sample surface and depth profiling

• Thin-sample analysis without substrate interference

These advantages allow our team at Foresite to investigate failures easier, with more precision, and faster. Which means, with one more tool in our tool kit, we will get to the core issue and lead you to reliability in no time.