December 16, 2011 -- Microelectronics packaging and assembly provider Quik-Pak, a division of Delphon Industries, is performing copper wire bonding on a Kulicke & Soffa (K&S) Maxum Ultra wire bonder. Available wires include bare copper and palladium-coated copper.

Quik-Pak's copper ball bonding can be done with 20μm (0.8 mil) to 30μm (1.2 mils) -diameter wires, at prototype and pre-production volumes.

The trend toward copper wire bonding is driven by higher gold prices and pricing pressures on semiconductor makers, as well as copper's high thermal and electrical conductivity, compared to gold and aluminum. Copper also exhibits high mechanical strength. Intermetallic growth in copper bonds is significantly slower than in gold wire bonds, creating lower electrical resistance, lower heat generation, and increased long-term bond reliability. Once bonded under a protective reducing gas atmosphere, copper wire has excellent ball neck strength and loop stability during encapsulation, Quik-Pak reports.

Steve Swendrowski, Quik-Pak GM, notes that the company's goal is to prototype IC packages using the same materials and package design as will be seen in volume production, and fully utilizing its copper-wire bonding capability furthers this mission.

Quik-Pak specializes in microelectronic packaging and advanced assembly services. Packaging can be provided as part of a turnkey assembly solution along with backgrinding, wafer dicing, die/wire bonding, laser micromachining, remolding and marking/branding. Plastic and ceramic packages, flip chips and chip-on-board designs, as well as stacked-die, rad-hard, and MEMS devices are in Quik-Pak's portfolio. Learn more at www.icproto.com or www.delphon.com.

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