Using Gold Bonding Wire
There are basically two forms of wire bonds; wedge bonds and ball bonds. Gold wire can be bonded in the shape of a wedge or a ball making it extremely versatile. The basic process for making a gold wire bond is shown below (click here for original article):

A spark or small flame is used to locally melt the end of the gold wire so as to form a spherical ball that is approximately twice the diameter of the wire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ball is thermosonically welded to a metallised pad on the semiconductor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A loop of wire is formed as the bonding capillary moves across to the contact pad of the device package or circuit board

 

 

 

 

 

The wire is thermosonically welded to the metallised pad of the package

 

 

 

 

The sharp edge on the tool is used to cut the wire, leaving a length protruding to form the next ball

 

 

 

 

 

The continuing drive for smaller components, increasing system functionality and cost reduction are all competing demands in the electronics industry. To help chip designers and manufacturers address these competing demands, insulated wire bonding technology may be used in the future. This consists of insulation applied to bare gold bonding wires, so avoiding short circuits and allowing for previously impossible chip designs to be realised. See www.microbonds.com for more information.

 

Insulated Bonding Wire

This new advanced form of gold bonding wire offers the opportunity for improvements in microchip design and packaging

The drive for smaller components, increasing system functionality and cost reduction are all competing demands in the electronics industry. To help chip designers and manufacturers address these competing demands, an insulated wire bonding technology known as X-Wire™ has been developed by a Canadian company, Microbonds Inc in cooperation with several leading gold bonding wire companies around the world.

Microbonds’ X-Wire™ Technology consists of a proprietary insulation applied to bare bonding wires. The technology overcomes the inherent limitations of bare wire bonding interconnections which have to be designed to ensure that the bare wires do not touch, so avoiding short circuits. In contrast when using insulated wire, chip designers can reduce the criticality of wire clearance, allowing for previously impossible chip designs to be realised. Insulated bonding wires have been added to the electronic industry’s technology roadmap (2006 ITRS Roadmap.)

X-Wire™ has been successfully tested by industry participants for bond integrity, intermetallic formation, wire bonding yield and reliability. Tanaka Denshi Kogyo K.K., the leading global supplier of gold bonding wire have just certified the technology readiness of Tanaka to manufacture X-Wire™ from its Saga, Japan production facilities.

For more information contact sales@microbonds.com

 

High Stiffness Bonding Wire

The development of new ultra-high stiffness gold bonding wire is reported by a team from leading manufacturer Kulicke and Soffa

 

Sure Connect

Sure Connect is an initiative from the World Gold Council to support reliable interconnection in semiconductor packaging through the widespread use of gold bonding wire. Information is provided on the Sure Connect website to help chip packaging engineers and designers make informed decisions on bonding wire material type, based on the relative merits of each material option. Sponsored training courses are provided at certain times of the year to help train engineers and designers. The Sure Connect initiative also supports and publishes further research into the science of wire bonding with gold and copper, including an improved understanding of the reliability and process issues associated with each wire type.