System and method for gradient thermal analysis by induced stimulus

An apparatus, comprising:

• a laser for controllably heating a test site on a device-under-test (DUT);
• a sensor for capturing a response signal from the DUT;
• a linear positioning device operable to position the DUT at known coordinates for each of a plurality of test sites;
• a controller operably coupled to the laser, the sensor and the linear positioning device to provide overall control thereof, wherein the controller is programmed, for each test site of the plurality of test sites, to pulse the laser between threshold limits to provide a relatively constant rate of heating to create a thermal wave that propagates across the DUT and to determine a respective elapsed time until the heating of the test site triggers a known condition at an anomaly that is located a respective distance from the test site;
• and
• a computer operable to be connected to the controller and configured to use the respective elapsed times to determine the respective distance between each of the plurality of test sites and the anomaly, wherein the respective coordinates of each of the plurality of test sites and the respective distances from the anomaly are used to determine the location of the anomaly by trilateration.

A method, comprising:

• selecting a plurality of test sites on a device-under-test (DUT), each of the plurality of test sites having respective coordinates;
• for each of the plurality of test sites, exciting the test site at a controlled rate to create a wave of excitation that propagates across the DUT and capturing a respective elapsed time until the excitation triggers a known condition at an anomaly that is located a respective distance from the test site;
• and
• using the respective elapsed time to determine the respective distance between each test site and the anomaly, wherein the respective coordinates of each of the test sites and the respective distances from the anomaly are used to determine the location of the anomaly.