Karsten Guth

Influences of bonding parameters on the tool wear for copper wire bonding

Ultrasonic wire bonding is a common technology for manufacturing electrical interconnects. In the field of power electronics, new thermal and electrical obligations arose due to increasing power density requirements. One approach to achieve these aims is replacing the wire material for heavy wire bonds from aluminum to copper. This material change leads to challenging tasks and problems, for instance the occurring wear of the bond tool. The wear is significantly higher using copper wire instead of aluminum and results in a dramatic loss in the amount of interconnects which can be produced reliable by a single tool. To reduce setting-up time in the production and minimizing costs, an enlarged bonding tool lifetime is desirable. Therefore, the paper discusses the influences of bonding parameters on the wear. The key question is which of the tasks cannot be fulfilled with increased wear of the tool, e.g. loss of process capability. The main functions are fixing the wire in the tool groove, pre-deformation, applying normal force and transmission of ultrasonic oscillation to the wire. To identify the most affecting factors, four bonding parameters are varied and their influences are investigated. These parameters are: (I) ultrasonic power, (II) tool geometry, (III) the way of tangential force transmission and (IV) loop trajectory.

Lifetime analysis of power modules with new packaging technologies

Several novel packaging technologies for power modules have been recently introduced to meet the future requirements of higher reliability and temperature stability. Using copper wire bonds for the top-side interconnect and silver sintered or diffusion soldered die attach layers led to a significant increase of lifetime. It was subsequently shown that the power cycling lifetime of modules without a baseplate is mainly limited by the substrate metallization, while modules employing a baseplate and a substrate-to-baseplate solder interconnect fail due to degradation within the solder layer. The investigations in this paper continue with the description and systematization of degradation effects in new interconnect technologies of power modules. As a result first lifetime models for modules with and without baseplate are provided. Thereby, accepted lifetime models for standard technologies are adopted to the degradation patterns of the new technologies.

Modeling of the stick-slip effect in heavy copper wire bonding to determine and reduce tool wear

To increase quality and reliability of copper wire bonds, self-optimization is a promising technique. For the implementation of self-optimization for ultrasonic heavy copper wire bonding machines, a model of stick-slip motion between tool and wire and between wire and substrate during the bonding process is essential. Investigations confirm that both of these contacts do indeed show stick-slip movement in each period oscillation. In a first step, this paper shows the importance of modeling the stick-slip effect by determining, monitoring and analyzing amplitudes and phase angles of tool tip, wire and substrate experimentally during bonding via laser measurements. In a second step, the paper presents a dynamic model which has been parameterized using an iterative numerical parameter identification method. This model includes Archards wear approach in order to compute the lost volume of tool tip due to wear over the entire process time. A validation of the model by comparing measured and calculated amplitudes of tool tip and wire reveals high model quality. Then it is then possible to calculate the lifetime of the tool for different process parameters, i.e. values of normal force and ultrasonic voltage.

Modeling and simulation of the ultrasonic wire bonding process

Ultrasonic wire bonding is an indispensable process in the manufacturing of semiconductor components. It is used for interconnecting the silicon die to e.g. connectors in the housing or to other semiconductors in complex components. In high power applications, such as wind turbines, locomotives or electric vehicles, the thermal and mechanical limits of interconnects made from aluminum are nearing. The limits could be overcome using copper wire bonds, but their manufacturing poses challenges due to the harder material, which leads to increased wear of the bond tools and to less reliable production. To overcome these drawbacks, adaptation of process parameters at runtime is employed. However, the range of parameter values for which a stable process can be maintained is very small, making it necessary to compute suitable parameters beforehand. To this end, and to gain insights into the process itself, the ultrasonic bonding process is modeled. The full model is composed of several partial models, some of which were introduced before. This paper focuses on the modularization of the full model and on the interaction of partial models. All partial models are presented, their interaction is shown and the general outline of the simulation process is given.

Reliability aspects of copper metallization and interconnect technology for power devices

Abstract The introduction of thick copper metallization and topside interconnects as well as a superior die attach technology is improving the performance and reliability of IGBT power transistor technologies significantly. The much higher specific heat capacity and higher thermal conductivity increases the short circuit capability of IGBTs, which is especially important for inverters for drives applications. This opens the potential to further optimize the electrical performance of IGBTs for higher energy efficiency. The change in metallization requires the introduction of a reliable barrier against copper diffusion and copper silicide formation. This requires the development of an efficient test method and reliability assessment according to a robustness validation approach. In addition, the new metallization enables interconnects with copper bond wires, which yield, together with an improved die attach technology, a major improvement in the power cycling capability.

Effect of Different Oxide Layers on the Ultrasonic Copper Wire Bond Process

Ultrasonic heavy wire bonding is a commonly used technology to conduct electrical devices in power electronics. In order to facilitate powerful solutions combined with an increased efficiency, involving a material change from aluminum to copper wire as conductor material takes place in recent years. Due to the material related properties, copper wire bonding requires significant higher bond processing parameters such as bond force and ultrasonic power compared to aluminum which can lead to damages or a failure of the bonded component. Therefore, a profound knowledge of the processes prevailing during wire bonding is essential to optimize the application of the copper wires and consequently to achieve the demands on quality and reliability. The behavior of different natural surface oxides of aluminum and copper are assumed to be one reason for the deviation in the required bond parameters. Accordingly, the impact of differently pre-treated substrates surfaces on which the bonding is applied were investigated in this study. First, all conditions investigated (as-received, oxide-free, AlOx and the CuOx) were characterized by utilizing scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, focused ion beam microscopy and atomic force microscopy. In addition, hardness tests were performed as well as perthometer measurements. Afterwards, a 500 μm copper wire was bonded on the generated surfaces investigated. In consideration of the roughness, shear test of various bond times and microscopic images were evaluated. Finally, the results were compared and discussed. Overall, the current study indicates that an Al-oxide layer is beneficial for welding process in Cu wire bonding. On the contrary, the Cu-oxide is detrimental and leads to a delayed welding of the joining parts. Based on the obtained results, it can be expected that due to an ideal set of Al-oxide layers, lower optimal bond parameters can used to reach high bond strength with good reliability properties.

Micro wear modeling in copper wire wedge bonding

Ultrasonic wire bonding is a common technology for connecting electrodes of electronic components like power modules. Nowadays, bond connections are often made of copper instead of aluminum due to its thermal and mechanical assets. One of the main cost factors in the wire bonding process is the acquisition cost of consumables such as bonding tools. For copper wire bonding tool lifetime is much lower than for aluminium bonding. This paper presents a micro wear model for wedge/wedge bonding tools that was validated by observing wear patterns with a scanning electron microscope. The wear coefficient is determined in long-term bonding tests. The application of Fleischers wear approach incorporating frictional power to a finite element simulation of the bonding processes is used to shift element nodes depending on the rising frictional power for finite element modeling. The presented simulation method can be used to take tool wear into consideration for creating tools with increased lifetime. This enables the production of reliable bond connections using heavy as well as thin wire of any material. The paper discusses the predominant influences of wear on the main tool functions and their changes over tool life. Furthermore, the influence of the tool groove angle on the tool wear was investigated. One of the main results is that the wear is largest during the last phase of each bonding process, when the contact area between tool and wire is largest.

Reliable Manufacturing of Heavy Copper Wire Bonds Using Online Parameter Adaptation

Usage of copper wire bonds allows to push power boundaries imposed by aluminum wire bonds. Copper allows higher electrical, thermal and mechanical loads than aluminum, which currently is the most commonly used material in heavy wire bonding. This is the main driving factor for increased usage of copper in high power applications such as wind turbines, locomotives or electric vehicles. At the same time, usage of copper also increases tool wear and reduces the range of parameter values for a stable process, making the process more challenging. To overcome these drawbacks, parameter adaptation at runtime using self-optimization is desired. A self-optimizing system is based on system objectives that evaluate and quantify system performance. System parameters can be changed at runtime such that pre-selected objective values are reached. For adaptation of bond process parameters, model-based self-optimization is employed. Since it is based on a model of the system, the bond process was modeled. In addition to static model parameters such as wire and substrate material properties and vibration characteristics of transducer and tool, variable model inputs are process parameters. Main simulation result is bonded area in the wire-substrate contact. This model is then used to find valid and optimal working points before operation. The working point is composed of normal force and ultrasonic voltage trajectories, which are usually determined experimentally. Instead, multiobjective optimalization is used to compute trajectories that simultaneously optimize bond quality, process duration, tool wear and probability of tool-substrate contacts. The values of these objectives are computed using the process model. At runtime, selection among pre-determined optimal working points is sufficient to prioritize individual objectives. This way, the computationally expensive process of numerically solving a multiobjective optimal control problem and the demanding high speed bonding process are separated. To evaluate to what extent the pre-defined goals of self-optimization are met, an off-the-shelf heavy wire bonding machine was modified to allow for parameter adaptation and for transmitting of measurement data at runtime. This data is received by an external computer system and evaluated to select a new working point. Then, new process parameters are sent to the modified bonding machine for use for subsequent bonds. With these components, a full self-optimizing system has been implemented.

Validated simulation of the ultrasonic wire bonding process

Ultrasonic wire bonding is an indispensable process in the manufacturing of power semiconductor devices. These devices consist of one or more semiconductors in a common housing with integrated connectors. To interconnect individual components, wire bonds are used. Bonding machines form a joint between bond wire and components using ultrasonic vibration. In high power applications, such as electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar power systems, the thermal and mechanical limits of aluminum interconnects are nearing. The limits could be overcome using copper wire bonds, but their manufacturing poses challenges due to the harder material, which leads to increased wear of the bond tools and to less reliable production. Parameter values for which a stable process can be maintained can only be changed within a small range, making it necessary to compute suitable parameters beforehand. To this end, and to gain insights into the process itself and allow automated process parameter adaptation at runtime, the ultrasonic bonding process is modeled. The process model is composed of several partial models, which were introduced before. This paper focuses on the validation of a coupled point contact model which is used to calculate the friction and bond formation in a discretized bonding area. By doing this, new insights into the bonding process can be shown. For example, the growth of the welded area in the interface of wire and substrate during the bonding can be shown for different points in time. At the end, an experimental validation of the process model reveals a high model quality. This is one major step towards truly understanding the parameter influences on bond quality.

History and Recent Developments of Packaging Technology for SiC Power Devices

Packaging plays an important role to allow the full potential of silicon carbide devices to be realised. The physical properties of silicon carbide will allow devices to operate with junction temperatures well above 200 °C, but today standard-packaged SiC products are limited to a maximum junction temperature of 175 °C. The limitation lies in the packaging, because a power device package is a complex structure consisting of many components of different materials and with correspondingly different thermal properties. As such, the assembly technologies define both the performance and lifetime of discrete packages and power modules. In this paper we give an insight of packaging technology for SiC devices from the beginning in the mid-1980s through to the state-of-the-art of today. In addition, new packaging technologies to enable power SiC devices to operate up to 200 °C are discussed.