Researchers detail revolutionary new X-ray tech for seeing inside computer chips — PyXL is a non-destructive method that delivers crisp and clear 3D images

Ptychographic X-ray laminography (PyXL) image
Ptychographic X-ray laminography (PyXL) image (Image credit: Paul Scherrer Institute)

A team of scientists split between the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, the University of Southern California, and ETH Zürich were behind the vastly improved imaging technique dubbed PyXL, reports IEEE Spectrum. Initially, PyXL could resolve details as small as 19nm. Still, its fidelity has been tuned via burst ptychography to eliminate jitter, and now the system can have a resolution of 4nm.

Researchers have detailed a new X-ray technique that can see inside computer chips to reveal crisp and clear 3D images. To reveal the inside of a computer chip for analysis, engineers previously had to leverage destructive methods like slicing or grinding through layers of material before investigating with microscopy. Thus, the new non-destructive ptychographic X-ray laminography (PyXL) technology and its clear 3D images could greatly benefit the semiconductor industry.

Baohua Niu, a principal engineer at the Intel Foundry in Hillsboro, Oregon, provided some industry perspective on PyXL for the IEEE report. Niu said that before PyXL, engineers would have to use a mix of methods to try and narrow down the potential problem areas of a chip for further investigation. Once the area of interest was determined, the chip could then be sliced (destructively, obviously) across the selected spot for surface imaging with a transmission electron microscope (TEM). It is not an ideal workflow, with its hit-and-miss chip destruction.

Niu admits that the best PyXL resolution is four or five times lower than a TEM image. However, the much deeper 3D images (up to 5 micrometers) of PyXL versus the 10 to 30 nanometer depth visible via a TEM can be telling. Thus, PyXL should be much easier and faster at pinpointing chip issues, said Niu. Efficient design feedback is critical to engineers. “Here’s what you designed for; here’s what actually was made given your design,” notes Niu regarding the validation cycle.

The report on the new PyXL x-ray imaging also highlights that the researchers used PyXL to image AMD Ryzen processors built using TSMC’s 7nm process node. The resolution of the latest 3D x-ray tech is good enough to see the structure and features of Ryzen’s FinFET transistors, including details like the precise placement of transistors and the interconnects. Moreover, a 3D view will become an increasingly valuable asset as chips gain more and more 3D features as part of their architecture and packaging.

Interestingly, inconsistencies across chips are easy to see using PyXL. “You can figure out how good the engineering is and the manufacturing, explained the University of Southern California’s Tony Levi. “You can see the quality in one chip, the slipshod in another.” It seems that PyXL can see variances that precipitate the silicon lottery.

Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

Read more
Perovskite facilitates 'nano-PeLED' pixels
New LED displays packing 90nm 'virus-sized' pixels can deliver 127,000 PPI visuals
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
American lab is developing a BAT laser that could enable 'beyond EUV' lithography, provide 10X power efficiency boost
ASML
Chinese scientists create 'breakthrough' solid-state DUV laser light source for chipmaking tools
ASML EUV machine
Intel has processed 30,000 wafers with High-NA EUV chipmaking tool
One of the crystals used in the study, being charged under UV light.
New form of crystal storage stores terabytes of data per square millimeter
Strix Halo APU
AMD's game-changing Strix Halo APU, formally known as the Ryzen AI Max+, poses for new die shots and gets annotated
Latest in Semiconductors
ASML origins
ASML recalls its humble origins in a ‘leaky shed’ in Eindhoven, circa 1984 — it now makes the most cutting-edge chipmaking tools on the planet
TSMC
TSMC's Arizona chip fab production is sold out through late 2027
eFabless closure affects Tiny Tapeout 8, 9, and 10
Efabless shuts down, fate of Tiny Tapeout chip production projects unclear
Former President Donald Trump
Taiwan's Economy Ministry responds to Trump's threat of up to 100% tariffs on chips, including those from TSMC
GlobalFoundries
India set to launch its first semiconductor chip based on 28nm this year
TSMC fab
TSMC's Arizona Fab 21 is already making 4nm chips — yield and quality reportedly on par with Taiwan fabs
Latest in News
TSMC building
TSMC to reportedly speed up fab building in the US, third fab to begin construction this year
Intel
Ex-Intel CEO Gelsinger warns TSMC's $165B investment will not restore U.S. semiconductor leadership
ReFS in Windows 11 preview build installer
New Windows file system option supports up to 35 petabyte volumes — ReFS appears in latest Insider build
New Windows 11 Game Bar Update
Microsoft updates the Windows Game Bar to be more user friendly with PC Handhelds
Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi Pico fightstick randomly mashes buttons for fighting game combos
The world's first color e-paper display over 30-inches
Mass production of 'world's first' color e-paper display over 30-inches begins