temperature induced IMC in wire bonds?

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I have been reading a good deal about IMC (purple plague in ... - Nov 15, 2005 by arclightzero  

Which is it: * Wire bonds don't stick when bonded * Wire b... - Nov 15, 2005 by davef  

Well, I can't speak for them falling off later on, as that's... - Nov 15, 2005 by arclightzero  

Is your IMC purple? [The sure way to tell if you have the 'p... - Nov 15, 2005 by davef  

arclightzero

#37870

temperature induced IMC in wire bonds? | 15 November, 2005

I have been reading a good deal about IMC (purple plague in particular) in gold wire/aluminum pad wire bonds. My company uses ultrasonic wedge bonding, and for the most part all of our bonding is gold/gold, however we have one particulr part that has several customer-supplied aluminum pad chips. Of all of our products, this particular product has the highest failure rate at test (almost all failures are no communications from the chips), and I was wondering if anybody has any experience dealing with Au/Al bonding problems? My biggest question is if the underfill and encapsulant heating and curing cycles (3 total after the bonding) could be creating IMC issues that could cause high rates of failures. Thanks for your help! -Ryan

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davef

#37874

temperature induced IMC in wire bonds? | 15 November, 2005

Which is it: * Wire bonds don't stick when bonded * Wire bonds fall off, or break during service

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arclightzero

#37875

temperature induced IMC in wire bonds? | 15 November, 2005

Well, I can't speak for them falling off later on, as that's not when I see them, and they are passing their wire pull tests after bonding. What I am seeing is electrical opens during testing, and these opens coincide with the Au/Al bonded points. That's why I am wondering if there is an electrical open, not a physical open, which is what started me thinking that the problem could be IMC at the bond. Since the wire pulls are performed prior to the encapsulant and heating cycles, it's difficult to see if there is a problem developing after the fact

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davef

#37886

temperature induced IMC in wire bonds? | 15 November, 2005

Is your IMC purple? [The sure way to tell if you have the 'purple plague'.]

Where does the failure occur? * At pad / wire bond * Up wire from the bond

Tell us about the aluminum pad. * What is the plating specification? Is that what you actually receive? * What is the silicon content in the aluminum? * Is the aluminum passivated? If so, with what?

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