Ultra-soft bonding copper wire

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has introduced the MaxSoft copper bonding wire that reduces IC bond pad sStress, and significantly improves second bond strength.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has introduced the MaxSoft copper bonding wire engineered for a variety of discrete and IC applications.

This copper wire has unique physical properties that reduce IC bond pad sStress and significantly improve second bond strengths.

With the new MaxSoft copper wire, customers now have a more reliable and cost-effective technology for fine wire utilised in copper wire bonding of ICs.

Applications using copper wire for bonding can prove challenging since copper inherently deforms less readily than gold wire, causing higher stress on the bond pad.

KandS laboratory results have shown that due to its lower wire hardness, MaxSoft reduces pad damage and provides stronger intermetallic connections.

Klaus Dittmer, KandS Director - Product Marketing for Bonding Wires, states, "In the past, copper wire bonding has had some real limitations with reliability and robustness in 1st and 2nd bond areas.

Our lab results show that the new MaxSoft copper wire increases overall bond strengths and reduces stress on the pads".

Second bond strength and consistency are more challenging attributes for copper wire compared to gold wire, particularly in fine-pitch applications.

This has created limitations to copper wire bonding.

During KandS testing, MaxSoft obtained up to 35 percent higher 2nd bond pull responses compared to conventional copper wire, with increased bonding robustness.

"This new copper wire is yet another element of our total copper wire bonding solution approach.

Our customers now can have a comprehensive process solution with wire bonder copper kits, CuPRA plus capillaries combined with our copper wire product line," explains Jack Belani, KandS Senior Vice President, Packaging Materials and Corporate Marketing.

"Through MaxSoft, we are helping customers improve their copper wire bonding yields while providing new options for IDMs and subcontractors as they move from gold to copper.

The breakthrough with MaxSoft now enables our customers to remarkably improve both 1st and 2nd bonds" The new MaxSoft copper wire is available from 0.8 to 1.3 mil diameters and has a long shelf life of six months when stored in the recommended conditions inside the original packaging.

Back to top