Bond strength evaluation of heat treated Cu-Al wire bonding

Abstract

Bond strength evaluation of wire bonding in microchips is the key study in any wire bonding mechanism. The quality of the wire bond interconnection relates very closely to the reliability of the microchip during performance of its function in any application. In many reports, concerns regarding the reliability of the microchip are raised due to formation of void at the wire-bond pad bonding interface, predominantly after high temperature storage (HTS) annealing conditions. In this report, the quality of wire bonds prepared at different conditions, specifically annealed at different HTS durations are determined by measurements of the strength of the interface between the bond wire and the bond pad. The samples are tested in pull test and bond shear test. It was observed that the higher bonding temperature as well as the longer duration of HTS increased the bond strength. This is represented through the analysis of the measurements of ball shear strength. This is due to the fact that higher bonding temperature and longer HTS promoted better growth of the Cu-Al IMC layer. A transmission electron microscopy - energy dispersive X-ray analysis (TEM-EDX) has been carried out to observe the formation of the Cu-Al IMC layer in the sample.