EUV imaging makes latest microscopy news

The latest microscopy headlines include the revelation that the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) has developed an ultra-thin extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imager based on aluminium gallium nitride grown on a silicon wafer.

IMEC, which is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, says the latest microscopy techniques using EUV make ultraviolet detection an area of particular interest at present.

The imaging device it has created has a pitch between pixels of around ten microns, making it highly accurate.

Meanwhile, its aluminium gallium nitride content operates over a wide bandgap, enhancing ultraviolet radiation hardness when compared with silicon while rendering the device insensitive to visible light.

The sensor layer itself is less than one micron thick and contains a square focal array of 256 pixels in each dimension.

Numerous packaging steps including the addition of solder bumps, flip-chip bonding of the focal array and 0.35-micron read-out chip, and wire-bonding of the final packed unit complete its assembly.