Design and Simulation of a 94 GHz Resonant Horn Antenna that Detects Hidden Microscopic Defects on a PCB Board
Conference
Giordano, A, Awasthi, P, Pulugurtha, M et al. (2025). Design and Simulation of a 94 GHz Resonant Horn Antenna that Detects Hidden Microscopic Defects on a PCB Board
. 58. 10.23919/USNC-URSINRSM66067.2025.10907219
Giordano, A, Awasthi, P, Pulugurtha, M et al. (2025). Design and Simulation of a 94 GHz Resonant Horn Antenna that Detects Hidden Microscopic Defects on a PCB Board
. 58. 10.23919/USNC-URSINRSM66067.2025.10907219
Hidden microscopic defects on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) occur through one or many errors in the manufacturing process. These hidden defects can include misalignments of metallic layers, via pad misalignments, pinholes, voids and gaps, etc. Even though these hidden defects are small, they have a significant impact on the functionality of the PCB. This can equate to monetary losses due to discarding chips as well as extra time and labor spent on inspecting and correcting these defects. Currently, there are many methods to detect hidden defects based on optical, acoustic, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). However, these methods are costly and time-consuming, can only detect hidden defects at the surface, and may destroy the material.
