Infrared measurements of temperature anomalies in electronic devices

The utilization of infrared techniques is accompanied by intrinsic difficulties, which often lead to a significant reduction in measurement accuracy. The electromagnetic signal, emitted by the investigated electronic device, is quite complex and the task of infrared temperature measurement requires non-trivial solutions. When electronic devices are under evaluation and their corresponding heat signature data is being analyzed - the analytical process is often directed towards "thermal abnormalities". Within this article, a developed thermographic measurement system is presented. Described are its functional capabilities and presented is experimental data - resulting from its utilization as part of a diagnostic setup for integrated circuits; electronic modules and components; PCBs. An emphasis is made towards specific thermal image processing techniques, aimed at increasing measurement accuracies. The necessary input data for an uncertainty evaluation is discussed. A series of experimental measurements of different electronic modules is presented, as a means for illustrating the capabilities of the developed instrumentation.