Tools of the Trade Tour 

The Tools of the Trade Tour at ISTFA 2026 offers attendees an inside look at the latest products, technologies, and services shaping the future of failure analysis. This guided, show-floor experience is designed to bring technical concepts to life through live, hands-on demonstrations and real-world applications.

Participants will have the opportunity to see advanced analytical tools in action, interact directly with equipment specialists, and gain practical insights into how today’s most innovative technologies are being used in laboratories and industrial environments around the world. The tour highlights the connection between technical theory and practical execution—making it a valuable experience for both new and seasoned failure analysis professionals.

What to Expect

• Live demonstrations of state-of-the-art failure analysis and characterization equipment

• Walk-throughs of new technologies featured on the exhibit floor

• Direct interaction with product experts and application engineers

• Real-world use cases and practical implementation insights

• A parallel, show-floor learning experience that complements the technical program

Who Should Participate

The Tools of the Trade Tour is ideal for:

• Failure analysts and reliability engineers

• Laboratory managers and technicians

• Researchers and scientists

• Anyone interested in seeing failure analysis tools and instrumentation in action

Demonstrating Companies 

Booth # 624
Product Name: microPREP® systems 
Product Description: microPREP® laser systems have been field-proven for over ten years. They accelerate sample preparation for FA methods like TEM, SEM, APT, XRM, and micromechanical testing. They have evolved from pico- to femtosecond lasers to bigger sample sizes: microPREP® L can prepare specimens on samples like 12” wafers or system-level boards.
Overview of Demonstration: To the ISTFA show site, we bring our microPREP® PRO demo tool. We use it to show the core competence of all microPREP® systems: speeding up your time-to-sample through laser-based sample preparation and allowing your downstream equipment to do what it does best. You will learn about the wide range of materials microPREP® systems can handle, the different pico- and femtosecond lasers available, the various sample geometries, and how repeatable recipes, together with endpoint detection, reduce both rework and the need for user intervention.

 

Booth # 401
Product Name: NEW X-Prep 6x®
Product Description: The NEW X-Prep 6x® is a specialized 6-axis CNC-based milling, grinding, and polishing system engineered for mechanical sample preparation of advanced semiconductor devices. Designed for heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging, its expanded preparation region accommodates larger, more complex samples while delivering exceptional flexibility, precision, and process repeatability.
Overview of Demonstration: Experience the NEW X-Prep 6x® 6-Axis Precision Sample Preparation System and learn how Allied is advancing mechanical sample preparation for the next generation of semiconductor devices. Designed to address the challenges of heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging, the X-Prep 6x® combines advanced 6-axis motion with an expanded preparation region to accommodate larger and more complex samples. Meet with Allied’s X-Prep specialists to discuss sample preparation strategies supporting heterogeneous packaging investigations, reverse engineering, hardware assurance, and electrical and physical failure analysis workflows.

Booth # 525
Product Name: MIP / MIP+
Product Description: MIP & MIP+ are JIACO’s patented Microwave Induced Plasma systems: atmospheric plasma for package decapsulation and die-level etching (MIP+). MIP delivers artifact-free, automated IC decapsulation while preserving samples and failure sites. MIP+ extends to die level etching, ion-free, for selective etching of advanced packaging materials in FA and reliability testing.
Overview of Demonstration: JIACO Instruments will demonstrate how MIP & MIP+ plasma-based sample preparation improves Failure Analysis success rates across semiconductor packages. On wire bond packages we will demonstrate throughput increases without sacrificing decapsulation selectivity & quality. On advanced packages, MIP+ enables new preparation approaches. After a short introduction to JIACO, MIP, and MIP+, we’ll walk through recent developments: Accelerated Workflow with Booster Etch, High Power Recipes, and High-Definition Vision for better process visibility with a case study on advanced packages. We’ll close with where the industry, and JIACO, are headed next: larger sample sizes and AI integration. 

Booth # 405
Product Name: Quartz FA-LIMS
Product Description: Quartz FA-LIMS is a highly configurable Laboratory Information Management System built for failure analysis and materials characterization labs. It is the only LIMS that treats image data as first-class passengers, integrating directly with imaging and non-imaging instruments to offer visibility and traceability of the full workflow from start to finish.
Overview of Demonstration: In this demonstration, we will walk through a selection of FA-LIMS features that directly impact how efficiently a lab operates day to day. Rather than a broad product overview, we have focused on specific areas where labs typically lose time or rely on manual effort, and we will show how FA-LIMS addresses those pain points in a practical, straightforward way. What you will see reflects real workflow scenarios that analytical labs in your industry deal with regularly. Our goal is to leave you with a clear picture of where meaningful productivity gains are achievable without disrupting how your lab already works.

 

Booth # 321
Product Name: MultiTrace Curve Tracer
Product Description: MultiTrace is an automated benchtop curve tracer that performs non-destructive I-V testing on semiconductor devices. It quickly identifies electrical faults, compares devices to known good references, and supports failure analysis, counterfeit detection, and reliability testing with configurable hardware and automated software.
Overview of Demonstration: MultiTrace provides fast, automated electrical characterization of semiconductor devices through non-destructive I-V curve tracing. Designed for engineering, failure analysis, and quality assurance, it helps detect damaged, counterfeit, or out-of-spec components by comparing electrical signatures against known good devices. The system supports a wide range of package types and configurable pin counts, integrates with RTI test fixtures and sockets, and is controlled through intuitive DataTrace software. MultiTrace delivers repeatable, accurate results that reduce troubleshooting time, improve product quality, and accelerate semiconductor analysis.

 

Booth # 505
Product Name: Tessent Diagnosis Coverage
Product Description: Software-based scan diagnosis has been used to localize defects prior to physical failure analysis. Pre-silicon simulation analysis can be used to predict the localization possible for a given design. 
Overview of Demonstration: In this presentation, we will show how new analysis can be used to predict diagnosis resolution (localization) and some mitigation strategies that could be utilized to address these limitations in the design.

 

Booth # 612
Product Name: Apex Hybrid
Product Description: Sigray’s Apex-Hybrid is the first X-ray microscope to combine laminography and tomography in one system. A patent-pending changeable beamline and patented Precision Angle Laminography deliver 350 nm resolution on intact boards and packages so you can locate the defect, then image it artifact-free in tomography mode. One tool, fast answers, high confidence.
Overview of Demonstration: In this demo, we will showcase our state-of-the-art Apex Hybrid 3D X-ray microscope, designed for high-flexibility imaging in failure analysis labs. We will demonstrate how high-resolution 3D datasets are collected non-destructively on intact devices, using both laminographic (CL) and tomographic (CT) imaging modes. CL is well suited to large, flat samples such as populated boards and packages, while CT delivers isotropic resolution on smaller extracted regions. We will then visualize these datasets to reveal example feature measurements, including solder bond size and shape, voiding, and buried defects, illustrating how each mode fits into a typical 3D FA workflow.

Booth # 501
Product Name: Meridian EV System and Helios Hydra PFIB
Product Description: Ga-Free Sample Preparation and Electron Beam-Based Fault Isolation for Advanced Device Analysis
Overview of Demonstration: Demo will show two innovative workflows that overcome where conventional preparation and optical fault isolation are reaching practical limits

Attendees will review a gallium-free TEM preparation approach using multi-ion species PFIB workflows to produce ultra-thin, structure-targeted lamellae. This will highlight how xenon and argon-based preparation can achieve sub-20 nm thickness while preserving crystalline structure and avoiding gallium implantation artifacts that can compromise compositional analysis.

Next, we introduce Meridian EV for backside power device workflows, focusing on how dockable e-beam probing enables improved access and connectivity for advanced backside power architectures. Attendees will see how backside power architectures limit traditional optical fault isolation and why e-beam probing, advanced sample preparation, and tester interface hardware are becoming critical.

 

Booth # 419
Product Name: ASAP-1
Product Description: Our ASAP-1 line of selected area preparation systems has become the de-facto standard for mechanical decapsulation and backside preparation for microelectronic devices. 
Overview of Demonstration: ASAP-1 IN SITU now offers surface profiling as part of its mechanical touch-off functionality. This aspect will be demonstrated live on a modern BGA package.

Modern device and package geometries require ever more accurate and interactive product solutions to ensure analytical success. Surface profiling is key to ULTRA TEC’s product plan for new product generations.

FA Engineers and technologists who need advanced interactiveness and feedback during device decap and material removal.

Booth # 409
Product Name: Crossbeam 750 FIB-SEM
Product Description: A FIB-SEM highly optimized for the most demanding sample preparation tasks
Overview of Demonstration: Attendees will learn how the evolving demands on TEM sample preparation in semiconductor manufacturing are redefining the requirements for FIB-SEM tools. Driven mainly by leading edge logic and memory technology nodes, TEM samples need to be thinner, larger, of better quality, and be produced at higher throughput. Routine preparation of samples with a thickness of 10 to 20 nanometers over areas in the range of square micrometers at an endpoint accuracy of 2 nanometers or less has become essential. The presentation will explain why, what the resulting requirements for instrumentation are, and how ZEISS overcame these challenges by introducing the Crossbeam 750.