Locating Signal Line Defects with Thermal Image Analysis

Plated circuit lines in printed circuit boards have been known to have certain faults which can cause electrical signal problems. One of these faults is a near-open (circuit line which has normal resistance but has defects which cause changes in the electrical signal). To detect the location of these faults, an experiment was conducted utilizing a Thermal Image Analyzer (TIA). The results show that this technique is feasible. This report details the experiment.