Get Stable Connections in Wire Bonding

Avoiding bond lifting and NSOP with wetting analysis

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Are your bond pads and electrodes ready for wire bonding?

 

The detachment of ball or wedge connections, i.e. the loosening of a connected wire from a bond pad, is one of the main causes of failures in electronic circuits. This is critical as the defects are often latent and only appear after some time due to environmental or operational stresses. Invisible chemical changes on the surface of bond pads and electrodes – e.g. due to oxidation or organic layers – are mainly responsible for non-stick-on-pad (NSOP) and long-term instability of the connections.

Use wettability to check surface readiness

The wetting of a drop of water on a material, measured by the contact angle, is sensitive to changes in the surface and is therefore ideal for detecting invisible films. It has been shown that the water contact angles of silver and copper electrodes decrease by up to 80-90% after cleaning by plasma treatment, demonstrating that the effect is clearly measurable.

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Picoliter drops and microscope optics do the work

KRÜSS provides contact angle measuring instruments that are specially designed for analyzing tiny surfaces such as bond pads or electrodes. These devices precisely dose drops in the picoliter range and image them with microscope optics and a high-resolution, high-speed camera. Software with a robust evaluation algorithm provides accurate contact angle results for these droplets.

These measurements help you improve manufacturing and cleaning processes before wire bonding – increasing long-term reliability and reducing reject rates.

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The Stood-up Drop in a nutshell

Ultrafast

Measure and read the result in seconds

User-independent

Parameters and measurement procedure are predefined

Non-destructive and hazard-free

Only drops of pure water get onto the sample

Proven
Tested with many polymers and metals, also plasma treated with different parameters

Instruments that measure contact angles on tiny surfaces

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DSA30M

Precision wettability analysis of microscopically small surfaces

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DSA30M Flexible Liquid

Micro wetting analysis with almost any liquid

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DSA100M

The premium solution for wettability analysis of microscopically small surfaces

I like the quality and reliability of KRÜSS instruments, and the knowledgeable and rapid response from their team is always appreciated.

Christopher Gerlach

Lead Research Specialist, 3M

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Let us help you create stable bonds

Want to learn more? Just fill out and send the form to get in touch!

Our surface analysis experts will tell you everything about our methods for wetting analysis with micro drops and how to use them to improve wire bonding.

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