Physical Assurance

Instructor 

Dr. Navid Asadi is an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Florida with an affiliation to the Materials Science and Engineering Department.

Learning Objectives

This micro-certificate introduces students to advanced imaging and inspection techniques for hardware assurance and counterfeit detection. Participants will learn how to use optical, electron, X-ray, and terahertz imaging approaches to analyze integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs). The course covers both destructive and non-destructive techniques, teaching how each method contributes to defect detection, failure analysis, and counterfeit identification. Students will gain hands-on exposure to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical imaging for counterfeit IC/PCB detection, 3D X-ray tomography, and near-field terahertz imaging. By completing this course, participants will develop practical knowledge of operating imaging systems, analyzing image quality, and applying inspection workflows to ensure the authenticity and reliability of hardware components.

In this certificate course, students will explore imaging-based methods for physical assurance of electronic components. The course combines SEM, X-ray tomography, terahertz imaging, and optical counterfeit detection techniques for ICs and PCBs.

This micro-certificate course is organized into the following units:

• Unit 1: Scanning Electron Microscopy: Learn how SEM systems operate, including vacuum maintenance, electron beam control, calibration, and compositional analysis. Gain skills in capturing high-quality SEM images for defect and counterfeit detection.
• Unit 2: X-ray 3D Tomography: Understand nondestructive X-ray imaging of chips and PCBs, including parameter optimization, reconstruction, and visualization for multilayer defect analysis.
• Unit 3: Near-field Terahertz Imaging: Explore near-field terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) for nondestructive material and structural characterization. Learn how terahertz fingerprints reveal defects, voids, and counterfeit encapsulants.
• Unit 4: Counterfeit IC and PCB Detection Using Optical Imaging: Learn how optical imaging, image quality optimization (RGB calibration, white balance), and machine learning methods are applied for detecting counterfeit ICs and PCBs. Explore defect taxonomies, preprocessing techniques, and automated detection approaches.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Operate SEM equipment and interpret imaging results for material and defect analysis.
• Apply X-ray tomography to reconstruct 3D chip/PCB structures and identify hidden counterfeit features.
• Utilize terahertz imaging to characterize encapsulant materials, detect voids, and identify counterfeit markers.
• Implement optical imaging and machine learning methods for counterfeit IC and PCB detection .
• Evaluate the trade-offs of destructive vs. nondestructive imaging methods for physical assurance.

Prerequisites:

• General: Basic electronics and familiarity with IC/PCB structures
• Helpful: Prior knowledge of microscopy or imaging-based detection (optical/SEM)
• Optional: Exposure to counterfeit detection concepts and nondestructive evaluation methods

Target Audience

Designed for U.S. citizens working in the Department of War, Government, or Government-affiliated employees, industry, as well as college students and faculty. Must register with your organizational email, and will be notified of acceptance within one week of the course start date.

Biography

Navid Asadi is an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Florida with an affiliation to the Materials Science and Engineering department. He investigates novel techniques for electronics inspection and assurance, system and chip level decomposition and security assessment, anti-reverse engineering, 3D imaging, invasive and semi-invasive methods, supply chain security, etc. Dr. Asadi is director of the Security and Assurance (SCAN) lab house to more than $12M advanced imaging and characterization equipment. He also serves as the associate director of the Florida Semiconductor Institute (FSI), and the Microelectronics Security Training (MEST) center which is a multi-million dollar program to train and reskill the professional engineers in the area of security. Dr. Asadi  has received his NSF CAREER award in 2022 and several best paper awards from IEEE International Symposium on Hardware Oriented Security and Trust (HOST) and the ASME International Symposium on Flexible Automation (ISFA). He was also winner of D.E. Crow Innovation award from University of Connecticut. He is also the general chair of the IEEE Physical Assurance and Inspection of Electronics (PAINE) Conference. His projects are sponsored by various government agencies and industry including but not limited to NSF, AFRL, AFOSR, ONR, SRC, Meta, Cisco, Analog Devices, etc.