Wirebonding - Microwave Encyclopedia

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Wirebonding

Updated June 13, 2010

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Bond, James Bond...

History of wirebonding

The wirebonding industry grew out of the early days of the semiconductor industry. How do you attach a tiny wire to one of those new-fangled germanium transistors? Inventors Fred Kulicke and Al Soffa were the team that worked out the details at their small company that they formed in 1951. In 1956 Western Electric placed an order for K and S equipment, and the wirebond industry was off and running. Today's wirebonders are amazing examples of automation, with vision systems that allow bonds to be precisely placed 20 or more times per second, with controlled lengths and loop heights. Albert Soffa died in 2005 at the age of 84.

Wirebond materials

Wirebonds are almost always made using gold wire in microwave applications, although aluminum or copper wirebonds are also possible.

Types of wirebonds

Ball bonding

Ballbonders are the most prevalent in the industry. A ball bonder feeds wire through a capillary, where the tip is heated enough to melt the wire. The molten wire forms a "ball" due to surface tension. The bonder sticks the ball onto the part (device or substrate) where it solidifies, then the capillary is lifted, pulling out more wire. The second bond is created when the capillary touches down on the second part to be connected, where it is joined though a combination of hear and thermosonic energy. The bonder tip then lifts and the wire is automatically melted off to form a new ball for the next bond.

Wedge bonding

Wirebond inductance

Now on a separate page!

Compensating for wirebonds

The inductance of wirebonds can generally be ignored up until you get to X-band or so. Then you have two choices... pull the wires tighter to reduce the inductance, or use established loop heights and wire lengths and compensate. The trick here is to add just a smidgen of shunt capacitance

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