A wire bonding apparatus of an aspect includes: a clamp apparatus, having a pair of arms; a stage, moving the clamp apparatus in a horizontal direction; a rod member; a contact detection part, detecting contact between the rod member and the clamp apparatus; and a control apparatus, controlling opening and closing of the pair of arms and an operation of the stage and acquiring position information of the clamp apparatus. The control apparatus obtains an opening amount of the pair of arms based on position information of the clamp apparatus at a time when an outer side surface of a first arm contacts the rod member in a state where the pair of arms are closed and position information of the clamp apparatus at the time when the outer side surface of the first arm contacts the rod member in a state where the pair of arms are open.

Disclosed is a method for detecting coverage rate of an intermetallic compound, the method comprising putting a chip subjected to wire bonding into a mixed reagent of fuming nitric acid and fuming sulfuric acid for soaking, wherein the chip subjected to wire bonding comprises a silver wire and an aluminum pad; taking out the chip after the silver wire is removed; and detecting the coverage rate of an intermetallic compound on the aluminum pad.

A method for in-situ and nonintrusive detection of one or more of bond-wire lift-off or surface degradation in insulated-gate bipolar transistor modules of a power switching device includes transmitting an ultrasonic soundwave from at least one transmitter, receiving, using at least one receiver, a reflected soundwave from the at least one insulated-gate bipolar transistor module, the reflected soundwave being a portion of the transmitted ultrasonic soundwave, using the controller to determine the frequency and amplitude of the received soundwaves, and comparing at least one of the frequency of the received soundwaves or the amplitude of the received soundwaves to known base characteristics for a new insulated-gate bipolar transistor module to determine a state of health for a power switching device including the insulated-gate bipolar transistor module being measured.

A method of detecting potential issues in connection with engagement between a wire bonding tool and an ultrasonic transducer of a wire bonding machine is provided. The method includes the steps of: (a) providing electrical power to an ultrasonic transducer at each of a plurality of levels of electrical power; (b) detecting an electrical characteristic of the ultrasonic transducer at each of the plurality of levels of electrical power; and (c) determining if the electrical characteristic of the ultrasonic transducer at each of the plurality of levels of electrical power is acceptable.

Provided is a wire shape measurement device of a semiconductor device comprising a substrate, a semiconductor element, and a wire connecting an electrode of the semiconductor element to an electrode of the substrate. The wire shape measurement device comprises: cameras that capture two-dimensional images of the semiconductor device; and a control unit that examines the shape of the wire based on the two-dimensional images of the semiconductor device acquired by the cameras. The control unit performs pattern matching using information on the position at which the wire is connected to the substrate or the semiconductor element and thickness information of the wire, and by utilizing the pattern matching, the control unit: generates a three-dimensional image of the wire from the two-dimensional images of the semiconductor device acquired by the cameras; and performs shape measurement of the wire based on the generated three-dimensional image of the wire.

An integrated circuit chip is attached to a support that includes first conductive elements. First conductive pads are located on the integrated circuit chip and are electrically coupled to the first conductive elements by conductive wires. The integrated circuit chip further includes a conductive track. A switch circuit is provided to selectively electrically connect each first conductive pad to the conductive track. To test the conductive wires, a group of first conductive pads are connected by their respective switch circuits to the conductive track and current flow between corresponding first conductive elements is measured.

A semiconductor device has a semiconductor chip having a plurality of pads and wires electrically connected to the plurality of pads, respectively. The plurality of pads includes a plurality of first pads which is electrically connected to a circuit included in the semiconductor chip and to which first wires are bonded and a second pad which is an electrode pad for wire connection test and to which a second wire is bonded.

A method of determining a sequence for creating a plurality of wire loops is provided. The method includes (a) providing workpiece data for a workpiece. The workpiece data includes (i) position data for bonding locations of the workpiece, and (ii) wire loop data for a plurality of wire loops providing interconnection between ones of the bonding locations. The method also includes (b) analyzing the workpiece data. The step of analyzing includes considering overlap conditions between ones of the plurality of wire loops, considering wire loop heights of ones of the plurality of wire loops, considering lateral bend conditions between ones of the plurality of wire loops, and considering wire loop positions for ones of the plurality of wire loops. The method also includes (c) providing a sequence of creating the plurality of wire loops in connection with the workpiece at least partially based on the results of step (b).

A method of operating a wire bonding machine is provided. The method includes: (a) operating a wire bonding machine during at least one of (i) an automatic wire bonding operation and (ii) a dry cycle wire bonding operation, wherein a bonding force is applied during the operation of the wire bonding machine; and (b) monitoring an accuracy of the bonding force of the wire bonding machine during the at least one of (i) an automatic wire bonding operation and (ii) a dry cycle wire bonding operation.

Implementations of a semiconductor package system may include a first bond wire bonded to a portion of a leadframe and to a pad of a semiconductor die, the first bond wire coupled to one of a power source or a ground; and a second bond wire bonded to the portion of the leadframe and to a control integrated circuit. The portion of the leadframe may form a current sense area and the control integrated circuit may be configured to use the second bond wire and the current sense area to measure a current flowing through the first bond wire during operation.