Picosecond excite and probe optical beam induced current method for investigation of high speed integrated circuits

A pump and probe beam technique is demonstrated in conjunction with the optical beam induced current method of laser scanning microscopy which allows to measure the dynamics of internal signals in integrated circuits. The time resolution of the measurements is limited only by the duration of the applied light pulses as well as the integrated circuit itself. For an example we can measure rise times as short as 400 ps and propagation delays of electrical pulses of less than 100 ps.