Geometry and Bond Improvements For Wire Bonding

Geometry and Bond Improvements for
Wire Ball Bonding and Ball Bumping

Daniel D. Evans, Jr.
Palomar Technologies, Inc.
2728 Loker Avenue West
Carlsbad, CA, 92010
Phone: (760) 931-3641, Fax: (760) 931-5193, E-mail: ddevans@bonders.com
Abstract
Mobile electronic products continually require finer geometries for packaged integrated circuits. Wireless phones,
PDA, and digital cameras continue to merge into a common device that will benefit from finer pitch and lower
profile wire bonding or ball bumping for flip chip, stacked chip, and other advanced packaging technologies.
Inherent variations in materials, tools, and process can cause variations in ball shape and size, stitch shape, bond
quality, and thus yield.
This paper will present Adaptive Bond Deformation™, a method recently developed to control the geometry of both
ball and stitch according to process parameter inputs supplied by the user. This technique adapts to normal
variations in bond surface, bond tool coupling, part fixture, and other difficult-to-measure influences to produce
bonded ball bumps and stitches with significant improvement in geometry consistency with similar or better results
for ball shear and pull strength when compared to non-adaptive bonding.
Key words: Ball Bump, Stud Bump, Wire Bond, Co-Planarity, GGI, Adaptability, Yield, and Traceability.
Introduction – Reduced bond pitch for bumps

Shrinking electronic package geometries are driving – Better bump coplanarity
continuous improvements in interconnect • Uniformity of stitch impressions to
technologies. Wire bonding is a mature technology
that continues to meet challenges of finer geometric – Minimize adverse impacts to sensitive
capability: loop shape, bond pitch, ball size, and materials for stitch
stitch size control. This paper will focus on the ball • Process
bond and stitch bond as shown in Figure 1. – Reduced process development time
– Reduced sensitivity to material, environment,
and setup variation
– Real-time capture/qualification of
production data
– Data trending analysis of production data
The motivation behind this work is to apply and
Figure 1: Simplified representation of a wire validate Adaptive Bond Deformation™ (ABD)
interconnection showing the loop and change in control technology (patent pending) for improving
ball and stitch geometries which occur during the
bond geometry.
ultrasonic bonding process.
Adaptive Bond Deformation™ (ABD) was
The packaging industry is looking for a common set developed for a unique ball bump application where
of improvements as geometries continue to shrink: material, process, and tooling variations adversely
• Uniformity of ball bump height and/or bump affected yields due to occasional shorting of adjacent
diameter to allow bumps.
– Reduced bond pitch for wires
Copyright © 2006 by IMAPS - International Microelectronics And Packaging Society. Reprinted with permission from the 39th International Symposium on Microelectronics
(IMAPS 2006) Proceedings, pg. 688-694, October 8 – 12, 2006, San Diego, California. ISBN 0-930815-80-7
The purpose of this investigation is to study the affect • Qualify an automated method of measuring
of ABD on both bump diameter and bump height for a MBD and TH to 0.2 µm, 3σ resolution, in order
standard ball bump application on a flat coupon. to verify improvements in MBD and TH
Although there has been promising work in applying consistency.
Adaptive Bond Deformation™ to stitch-bonds, Investigation
stacked-bumps, and stitch-on-bump, this paper will
focus on ball bump. This investigation involved three distinct sections:
The definitions of terms used in this investigation are • AUTOMATED BALL BUMP
given in Figure 2 and Table 1. MEASUREMENT – Develop and qualify an
automated ball bump measurement method
capable of resolving improvements in geometry
control.
• ADAPTIVE BOND DEFORMATION™ –
TH
Develop a bond control technique to modify the
bond sequence based on bond geometry.
MBD
• BOND DATA MINER™ – Develop a set of
tools to capture in-situ bonding data for use in
BBD qualifying the improved geometry control
technique, to use as a process development tool,
and as a production monitoring tool.
Figure 2. Ball bump shape and geometry terms Automated Ball Bump Measurement
One of the first things to be addressed was finding an
Table 1. Ball geometry and shear definitions efficient and capable method for measuring ball bump
Measure Definition geometry. A Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
was too slow and subject to operator interpretation
FABD Free air ball is the diameter of the ball while an optical microscope using conventional XY
created from the electronic flame off pattern recognition and laser height sensing was not
process while the ball is in free air capable of finely resolving ball bump geometry
and before it contacts the bond improvements (Measurement 3σ resolution
surface. requirement of MBD <= 0.2 µm and TH <= 0.2 µm)
even using several different methods and tools
MBD Mashed ball diameter is the diameter
available on the equipment. Although some gross
of the ball after ultrasonic bonding is
cross checks on absolute accuracy were completed,
complete. (Largest diameter in plan
NIST level verification was not necessary since
view)
relative bump geometries were the main interest of this
BBD Bonded ball diameter is the diameter study.
of bond contact between ball and
Measurement System Selection Process Steps:
substrate.
• Create bonded ball bump samples
TH Top height is the height of ball
measured from substrate surface to • Draft measurement requirements and
top of the ball. qualification protocol
SF Shear force of the ball in grams • First pass survey of 19 suppliers
• Down select for refinement survey of 4
SS Shear strength of the ball is calculated suppliers
as the SF/BBD area in grams/mil2.
• Analyze results
To show significant yield improvement, the goals of • Select measurement supplier based on
the investigation are to: capability to measure both geometry
• Improve ball bond geometry consistency of characteristics (TH and MBD)
MBD and TH by 20 % for a given process
without adversely affecting shear strength more Confocal Multi-pinhole Microscopy was chosen as the
than 10%. measurement technology system based on supplier
response and gage capability.
Optical surface measurement technologies have made results in hundreds of single intensity pictures, of
much progress in the last few years and some of them which each represents the height information in a
are now as accurate as high grade stylus profilometers, certain plane (like contour lines in a map). A fast
with the added advantage of avoiding damage to the mathematical algorithm finds the maximum intensity
surface being measured. One of the non-contact for each surface point. Interpolation effects lead to a
systems is a new confocal microscope that is 10 times higher accuracy in the height measurement
especially designed for application in the field of than the number of z steps that the objective makes.
engineering surfaces [C1]. The principle is based on The vertical scanning or shift of the objective is
the confocal-multi-pinhole (CMP) technique with achieved with a closed loop controlled piezo
dynamic real time synchronization, which leads to a transducer with 350µm travel length or, for larger
high signal to noise ratio for each measured data point height measurements, with a stepper motor and a
[C2]. mechanical z-axis.
The principle of confocal white light microscopy is The confocal microscope ball bump scan is shown in
based upon increasing the effect of focal Figure 4.
discrimination by means of an optical microscope and
space filter technique (pinholes). Light intensity which
does not originate in the focal plane of the objective
will be suppressed. In order to use this principle for
not only one point, but for an area, a multi pinhole disc
is used as spatial filter. Pinholes are arranged on this
rotating, micromechanically-manufactured disc in a
spiral form as shown in Figure 3.
(a) 3-D image – Vertical scan causes the MBD to

shadow the ball outer diameter wrap around toward
the BBD/Substrate interface
Figure 3. Schematic diagram showing the

operating principal of confocal multi-pinhole
microscopy
The disc is oriented between a beam splitter and the
microscope objective lens (objective). Each individual
pinhole represents a point light source that is focused
on the surface by the objective lens. The light that is
reflected or scattered back from the surface will be (b) Contour Image shows Z versus XY
exactly imaged into the same pinholes and transmitted Figure 4. Confocal Microscope ball bump
via the beam splitter into a CCD camera detector. The vertically scanned images (a) 3D view, (b) Contour
entire image in the microscope objective lens field of Map show two different views of the scan data.
view is scanned in real-time onto the CCD camera
during one revolution of the disk. The maximum light Algorithms and methods were developed to analyze
intensity will be detected when a sample surface point the scanned ball bump data to automatically measure
is exactly in the focal point of the objective. Precise MBD and TH. Figure 5 shows the repeatability of
shifting of the microscope objective in the z-direction measuring a single ball, 100 times. Other tests were
run on the same ball at another angle and on another Table 2. Bond Deformation Definitions
ball bump however results are not shown in this paper. Measure Description
Touch Height Recorded Z position at touch sense
Pre Bond Height Recorded Z position at ultrasonic
start
Post Bond Height Recorded Z position at ultrasonic
end
Touch Deformation between touch and start
0.12 um 3S Deformation of ultrasonics = Pre Bond Height –
Touch Height
Ultrasonic Deformation between start and end
Deformation of ultrasonics = Post Bond Height –
Pre Bond Height
(a) Top-Height Qualification Total Deformation Touch deformation + Ultrasonic
Deformation = Post Bond Height –
Touch Height
0.2 um 3S
(b) Mash Ball Diameter Qualification

Figure 5. Confocal system results measuring 1
bump 100 times (a) TH at 0.12 µm, (b) MBD at 0.2 Figure 6. Ball Deformation Diagram
µm
Adaptive Bond Deformation™ Technology

Adaptive Bond Deformation™ records the Z height at
touch sense, ultrasonic start, and ultrasonic end. From
these three heights, three separate deformations can be
calculated: touch, ultrasonic, and total. Schematic
representations of the height and deformation
measures are described in Table 2 and depicted in
Figures 6 and 7. The same measures apply to ball and
stitch separately, although the detail dimensions are
shown only for the ball. Adaptive Bond
Deformation™ automatically modifies the bond
process to achieve a specific bond deformation Figure 7. Stitch Deformation Diagram
according to specified process limits for deformation
and time. Adaptive Bond Deformation™ – Theory of
Operation
Theoretically, FABD consistency, Touch Consistency,
and Deformation Consistency should produce TH and
MBD Consistency.
Since the bonder cannot directly measure the actual
ball bump shape, Adaptive Bond Deformation™
assumes there is a consistent set of free air balls input
to the bond process and the bonder consistently senses
touch. Both of these assumptions are valid and were
checked for in this experiment. Although there is a
portion of the ball deformation which is non-
observable, given consistent FABD and Touch inputs
then using ABD to produce a more consistent Experiment Setup
deformation during bonding should result in more • Palomar Technologies’ Model 8000 Wire/Ball
consistent MBD and TH. Bumper
Bond Data Miner™ - Automated In-Situ Bond • Au Kovar Lid Substrate 1x1 inch (bump matrix
Data Capture, Cataloging, and Retrieval with ID, orientation, and row column ball
numbering)
Bond Data Miner™ (BDM) tools were used in
development of Adaptive Bond Deformation™ and • Au wire, 25.4 µm diameter, <1% elongation
are useful in process setup and production process • Capillary 1732-13-30-437
monitoring. The tools allow data gathering and • FABD 73.5 µm +/- 0.54 µm, 3σ
analysis of the parameters defined in Table 1, bond
time, and other measures for each ball bump as shown Process Steps
in Figures 8 and 9. • Bond samples with ABD = OFF (†)
• Bond samples with ABD = ON (†, ‡)
• Measure MBD, TH for ball bumps using the
ABD - OFF
confocal measurement system
• Review samples and data to confirm
measurements
• Shear ball bumps
ABD - ON
• Analyze results
† BDM data saved (Touch, Pre Bond, Post
Bond, Touch Deform, US Deform, Total Deform,
Bond Time, and other measures for each ball bump)
Figure 8. Bond deformation data are displayed for ‡ ABD parameters selected were based on
ABD ON and ABD OFF. ABD ON has tighter BDM bond deformation statistics captured during
deformation grouping within specified upper and ABD = OFF run. Parameter selection is a relatively
lower deformation control limits.
simple process after reviewing the BDM data.
Experimental Results and Interpretation
ABD - OFF Summary output of the experiment showed that
Adaptive Bond Deformation performed to goals.
Measurement comparison of 85 measured samples for
ABD ON vs. OFF
ABD - ON • TH (µm) 60.8 (+1.7%) +/- 2.5 3σ (-30%) – See
Figure 10
• MBD (µm) 83.5 (-1.0%) +/- 1.7 3σ (-21%) –
See Figure 11
Figure 9. Bond deformation distributions are • SS (g/mil^2) 9.7 (-6.3%) +/- 1.5 3σ (-8.9% ) –
displayed for ABD ON and ABD OFF. The bi- See Figure 12
modal distribution was specified by the user • Bond Deformation (µm) 14.3 (-0.4%) +/- 0.8 3σ
through the selection of ABD parameters. (-65%) – See Figure 13
Experiment • Bond Time (ms) 4.4 (-70%) – See Figure 14
Once the capabilities to measure the bumps, adaptively Adaptive Bond Deformation has the following effects:
bond the bump (based on geometry), and capture and TH – Showed a 1.7% increase in average height and a
save data were all in place, the experiment was 30% reduction in variance. This was well above the
arranged to validate the geometry control 20% variance improvement goal.
improvements as a result of using Adaptive Bond
Deformation™. MBD – Showed a 1% reduction in average diameter
and a 21% reduction in variance. This is above the
20% variance improvement goal.
SS – Showed a 6.3% reduction in average shear
strength and an 8.9% reduction in variance. This is Conclusion
within the goal of the investigation and produced ball
shear strengths well within accepted quality standards. Adaptive Bond Deformation™ technology was
validated as improving bump geometry with some
Bond Deformation – Showed a 0.4% reduction in reduction in shear strength. Goals of the project met
average deformation and a 65% reduction in variance. were:
Bond Time – Showed a 70% reduction in bond time ABD shows a 30% improvement in TH and a 21%
when using Adaptive Bond Deformation. (Resulting improvement in MBD variance;
in a higher wire per second rate)
There was an 8.9% improvement in ball shear strength
TH [um] ABD ON
ABD OFF variance and a 6.3% reduction in average shear
strength;
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
Automated Bump Measurement for MBD and TH was
56
55
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
validated and used for 0.2 µm capability;
Sample #
Automated Data Management and Mining for in-situ

Figure 10. Top height (TH) measurements showing deformation was developed and used for process
a 30.3% improvement in three-sigma variation
with ABD ON development and verification.
ABD ON
Additional benefits included: time savings per bond of
MBD [um]
87
ABD OFF
10.6 ms, or 70.7 % reduction of the bond time.
85
83
81 Suggestions for further study would include: Increase
79
77 the Adaptive Bond Deformation™ control parameter
limits to increase deformation and validate that it also
75
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
raises the shear strength;

Sample #
Figure 11. Mashed Ball Diameter (MBD)

measurements showing a 20.8% improvement in Better setup of the initial ball shape and process;
three-sigma variation with ABD ON
Develop an automated ball bump measure for mashed
Total Deformation [um] ABD ON
ABD OFF
ball height (MBH) and the height of the capillary lip
18
17
on the ball from the substrate. MBH can cross check
16
15
other measurements and process;
14
13 Perform the same work on an aluminum substrate to
verify the same benefits of using ABD;
12
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Sample #
Figure 12. Total Deformation measurements Perform modifications to background ultrasonics

showing a 65.3% improvement in three-sigma values to improve resolution of deformation control;
variation with ABD ON
Alternate investigations could be completed for
Shear Strength [gram/mil^2] ABD ON
ABD OFF
Adaptive Bond Deformation™ improvements applied
14.00
12.00
to Stitch Bond, Stacked Bump, Stitch on Bump, etc.
10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Sample #
Figure 13. Shear Strength (SS) measurements

showing an 8.9% reduction in three-sigma
variation with ABD ON and 6.3% reduction in
average shear strength
Bond Time [ms] ABD ON
ABD OFF
16.00
14.00
12.00
10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Sample #
Figure 14. Bond time measurements showing a

71% reduction in bond time with ABD ON
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the following people
for their support on this paper:
Palomar Technologies, Inc. – Don Beck, Mark
Greenwell, Albert Perez, Mike Artimez, James
O’Bryan.
NanoFocus, Inc - Dr. Christian M. Wichern, Managing
Director, www.NanoFocus-us.com.
References
[C1] Jordan, H.-J., et al.: “Quality assurance of
HARMS and MOEMS surface structures using
confocal white light microscopy,” SPIE
Proceedings 4440 (2001), 51.
[C2] Weber, M.A., et al: “Konfokale Mikroskopie
zur Oberflächenuntersuchung
mikrostrukturierter Materialien “Tagungsband,
unkenerosion 2002,“ WZL RWTH Aachen,
Kapitel 20.
Biography
Dan Evans is Senior Scientist for Palomar
Technologies (formerly Hughes Aircraft). He has
developed equipment and processes for semiconductor
and optoelectronic packaging since 1984 with several
related patents. Dan holds a BSME/Purdue and
MSME/Stanford both with emphasis in robotics and
controls.

Geometry and Bond Improvements For Wire Bonding

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Geometry and Bond Improvements For Wire Bonding

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Geometry and Bond Improvements for

Wire Ball Bonding and Ball Bumping

Introduction – Reduced bond pitch for bumps

(a) 3-D image – Vertical scan causes the MBD to

Figure 3. Schematic diagram showing the

(b) Mash Ball Diameter Qualification

Adaptive Bond Deformation™ Technology

Automated Data Management and Mining for in-situ

raises the shear strength;

Figure 11. Mashed Ball Diameter (MBD)

Figure 12. Total Deformation measurements Perform modifications to background ultrasonics

Figure 13. Shear Strength (SS) measurements

Figure 14. Bond time measurements showing a

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