Time-resolved photon emission (TRPE) is used to measure timing waveforms on semiconductor devices.
The device is mounted on a movable X-Y stage in an enclosure which shields it from all sources of light.
A TRPE prober operates in a manner similar to a sampling oscilloscope, and is used to perform semiconductor failure analysis.
As the electrical stimulus pattern is repetitively applied to the DUT, internal transistors switch on and off.
By detecting the combined photon emissions of pairs p- and n-channel transistors contained in logic gates, it is possible to use the resulting histogram to determine the locations in time of the rising and falling edges of the signal at that node.