We decided to digitally image the microprocessor that was running the computer interfaced to our QX3 microscope using this amazing microscope. The images below were taken from an Intel Pentium III wafer containing over 70 individual dies. The pinballs on the surface of the chips are really collapsible solder connectors that are used as pinouts for information and current to support the chip. This type of architecture is called ball-grid array (BGA) and is used on high-end microprocessors such as the Pentium III (Pentium IIs and lower were pin-grid array), Motorola G3 and G4, most chips from IBM, and Hewlett-Packard RISC chips.

The digital images presented above were captured using the oblique illuminator built into the microscope head with the assistance of a Dolan-Jenner Model 180 fiber optics illuminator using a 150 watt projection lamp. The light pipes of the illuminator were placed at approximately a 45-degree angle with respect to the optical axis of the microscope and were positioned to evenly illuminate the specimen. In many cases, colored gels were placed into filter holders and attached to the front of the light pipes to add color to the chip surfaces. A 2-inch square section of black paper was placed over the diffusion filter on the stage of the microscope to avoid any glare from transmitted illumination.

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