Copper wire bond failure mechanisms randy schueller, ph. Its well known that, compared to gold, copper has better electrical and thermal properties. However, the hardness of copper makes it difficult to. Pdf challenges and developments of copper wire bonding. While copper wire bonding has many advantages over gold wire bonding, many. However, with this new technology, changes in the bonding processes as well as bonding metallurgy can affect product reliability. During the past 5 years there has been a major transition in our industry from ball bonding with gold wire to the use of. Wire bonding to advanced copper, lowk integrated circuits.
The bonding machine parameter settings require higher bonding forces and cutting tool concepts, applicable for the use of copper bonding wire. Thischange to copper wire bonding is driven mostly by economic considerations, and thus, the. Power, grounding, bonding, and audio for ham radio safety. Growth of intermetallic compounds in thermosonic copper wire bonding on aluminum metallization.
Bond conductor size shall be determined by the ampere rating of the service entrance equipment as shown on the grounding and bonding table. Copper wire bonding concerns and best practices bonding process the cu bonding process faces challenges due to the oxidation and hardness of cu. Heavy copper wire bonding ready for industrial mass. With billions of units shipped, ti offers packaging solutions that deliver the performance, reliability, quality and cost advantages of copper. If copper were an easy dropin replacement for gold the industry would have made the change long ago. Power, grounding, bonding, and audio for ham radio safety, hum, buzz, and rfi. Diameter 15um to 50um cu copper alloy wire p3233 high reliability copper alloy bonding wire provides wider second bond process window and lower resistivity than bare copper. Johnson abstract there are three areas to consider when designingimplementing wire bonding to advanced ulsi damascenecopper. The bonding tool wear mechanisms and the corresponding factors are investigated. Copperbased wires are low cost and have excellent electrical resistivity.
However, there are significant tradeoffs with copper wire bonding copper has twice. One current drawback in heavy copper wire bonding is the relatively low lifetime of the consumables. Figure 6 wire bond to aluminumsilicon metallization. Reliability of copper wire bonding for power devices. Development of proper bonding schedules for copper containing metallizations will result in the formation of a. Today heraeus is a leading provider of technological solutions for gold, aluminum and copper bonding wires, serving our customers. Copper and gold wire bonding tj green associates llc. Section 1 aluminum wire section 2 copper wire section 3 miscellaneous. Pdf copper wire bonding has been studied for more than two decades. Tis extensive relationships with at tool and materials.
Findings the problemschallenges such as wire open and short tail defects, poor bondability for stitchwedge bonds, oxidation of cu wire, strain hardening. A focused ion beam fib has been an essential fa tool for characterizing this aspect of the copper bonding process. An inert atmosphere, typically forming gas, is required to prevent cu oxidation. Although less common, wire bonding can be used to connect an ic to other electronics or to connect from one printed circuit board pcb to another. Bonding jumpers shall be installed around any section of nonmetallic duct, pipe, device or fitting that will break the continuity of the ground. Exclusive technology feature failure analysis on power. This technique provides more control over loop height and bond placement. The wire bonding industry is undergoing a paradigm shift from gold to copper wire bondinga change that is as signi. Copper wire as a bonding material for the top side connection of power semiconductors is highly desired. However, in recent years the price of au has greatly increased, fueling the demand for highvolume wire bonding. Bare copper, palladium coated copper pcc, au coated pcc au pcc and silver ag alloy wires have emerged as alternatives to gold bond wires.
Corrosion study and intermetallics formation in gold and. In ballbonding the thin gold wire au tip is melted with a small electrical spark forming metal ball at the end of the wire. Tis journey to highvolume copper wire bonding production. Copper wire bonding ready for industrial mass production. Gold wire provides the ability to use a ball and stitch process. Then the capillary from which the wire is fed presses the wire into the bonding pad on the chip the actual attachment method is. Powercu soft bonding wire undergoes special processing steps thus heraeus is able to generate extreme soft copper. Bonding all building grounds power catv telco shack tower. Solid and stranded classes aa and a bare copper are suitable for overhead transmission and distribution applications.
With the use of copper in the metallization, it became much more difficult to form a metallurgical bond. Lower lifetime of consumables compared to aluminum bonding, increased change intervals and higher costs. The next section will examine the technological advantages and disadvantages of both copper and gold bonding wire. Recently, taking the reliability of the ic components into consideration, pdcoated copper wire and ag alloy wire are the most popular wires using in wire bonding. Copper and gold wire bonding course description wire bonding is a welding process that is the dominant chip interconnection method.
A number of studies have been conducted on cu wire bonding 36 and the expected benefits of cu wire over au wire have been published 79. Tis journey to highvolume copper wire bonding production 3 october 2014 operations in chip assembly and test at. Wire bonding is generally considered the most cost. With the recent increase in gold au wire cost, cu wire is an attractive way to manage overall package cost.
For condition g or h, the bond strength shall be determined by dividing the breaking force by the total of the nominal beam widths before bonding. Microassembly and micropackaging of implantable systems. Data sheet copper wire bonding copper wire benefits jdevices has extensive experience in cu wire products dating back to 2007, resulting in mature and capable cu wire bonding capability. Siong, wire sweep characterization of multitier copper wire bonding on thermallyenhanced plastic ball grid array packages, in electronic manufacturing technology symposium iemt, 2010 34th ieeecpmt international, 2010, pp. Connected to establish electrical continuity and conductivity. The bonding metallurgies, process variations, and reliability of cu and pdcu wires bonded on various surface finishes need to be evaluated. Growth of intermetallic compounds in thermosonic copper. Bonding wires for semiconductor technology pdf heraeus. Copper wire bonding concerns and best practices pdf free. Implantable sensor systems for medical applications, 20. These cost savings have driven the industry to solving multiple.
Copper wire bonding of microelectronic parts has developed as a means to cut the costs of using the more mature technology of gold wire bonding. Pdf copper wire bonding of microelectronic parts has developed as a means to cut the costs of using the more mature technology of gold wire bonding. International traffic in arms regulations or the u. Wire bonding is a solid state welding process, where two metallic materials are in intimate contact, and the rate of metallic interdiffusion is a function of temperature, force, ultrasonic power, and time. For ribbon wire, use the equivalent round wire diameter width which gives the same crosssectional area as the ribbon wire being tested. Unfortunately copper has a few mechanical property differences that make it more difficult to use as a wire bond material. Wire bonding using copper wire has many advantages over wire bonding using gold wire, which are summarised in table i. The minimum thickness of the aluminum layer remaining under the copper wire bonds is a critical factor for the long term reliability of copper wire bonded products. In applications where resistance due to bond wire can negatively impact circuit performance, using cu wire can offer improvement. Jdevices cu wire products have excellent quality and reliability on par with au wire. In the past gold wire was the dominant material in use but in 2015 copper and palladium coated copper wire captured more than 51% of the total market. With a history of building its own chip assembly equipment, ti was able to experiment with copper wire bonding independently to evaluate the results and benefits.
Pdf copper wire bonding concerns and best practices. Self inductance and self capacitance are nearly the same for au and cu wire and cu wire has lower resistivity. Barriers need to be overcome in cu wire bonding due to the high oxidation rate and hardness of cu wires. Though copper wire bonding developed nearly 30 years ago, it has only recently gained in popularity due to the rapid increase in the price of gold, which is now about 7,000 times that of copper reference 1. Wire bonding to advanced copper, lowk integrated circuits, the metaldielectric stacks, and materials considerations george g. Copper wire bonding book lays out the challenges involved in replacing gold with copper as a wire bond material, and includes the bonding process changesbond force, electric flame off, current and ultrasonic energy optimization, and bonding tools and equipment changes for first and second bond formation. Wire bonding is a standard interconnection technique used for electrically connecting microchips to the terminals of a chip package or directly to a substrate harman, 2010. For sizing any bond conductor required on the load side of fuses or circuit breakers. Recommended practices for designing and installing copper. Bonding all building grounds power catv telco shack tower r o d r o d r o d r o d ant panel r o d r o d r o d r o d r o d r o d r o d r o d. Pdf copper wire bonding of microelectronic parts has developed as a means to cut the costs of using the more mature technology of gold wire bonding find, read and cite all the research you. Copper wire bonding is an emerging ic packaging technology rapidly replacing gold.
624 370 963 541 156 1436 641 922 340 831 1228 1647 1085 974 1361 1187 1515 956 1090 1168 1348 369 20 515 1441 486 182 418 288 40 1595 1108 1442 146 1216 1074 539 1198 1282 1068 245 1185