A semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor chip; a case having a frame portion that has an inner wall portion surrounding an housing area in which the semiconductor chip is disposed; a buffer member provided on at last part of the inner wall portion of the case on a side of the housing area; a low expansion member provided on said at least part of the inner wall portion with the buffer member interposed therebetween on the side of the housing area; and a sealing member that seals the housing area, wherein the buffer member has a smaller elastic modulus than the case and the sealing member, and wherein the low expansion member has a smaller linear expansion coefficient than the case and the sealing member.

There is provided a copper bonding wire that exhibits a favorable bondability even when a scrub at the time of bonding is reduced. The copper bonding wire is characterized in that when a sum of percentages of Cu, Cu.sub.2O, CuO and Cu(OH).sub.2 on a surface of the wire as measured by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) is defined as 100%, Cu[II]/Cu[I] which is a ratio of a total percentage of CuO and Cu(OH).sub.2 (Cu[II]) corresponding to bivalent Cu to a percentage of Cu.sub.2O (Cu[I]) corresponding to monovalent Cu falls within a range from 0.8 to 12.

There is provided a copper bonding wire that exhibits a favorable bondability even when a scrub at the time of bonding is reduced. The copper bonding wire is characterized in that when a sum of percentages of Cu, Cu.sub.2O, CuO and Cu(OH).sub.2 on a surface of the wire as measured by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) is defined as 100%, Cu[II]/Cu[I] which is a ratio of a total percentage of CuO and Cu(OH).sub.2 (Cu[II]) corresponding to bivalent Cu to a percentage of Cu.sub.2O (Cu[I]) corresponding to monovalent Cu falls within a range from 0.8 to 12.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a semiconductor element, a connection pad, a plated layer, a wire, and an encapsulation resin. The substrate includes a main surface. The semiconductor element is mounted on the main surface and includes a main surface electrode. The connection pad is formed of Cu, arranged with respect to the substrate, separated from the substrate, and includes a connection surface. The plated layer is formed of Ni and partially covers the connection surface. The wire is formed of Al and bonded to the main surface electrode and the plated layer. The encapsulation resin encapsulates the semiconductor element, the connection pad, the plated layer, and the wire.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a semiconductor element, a connection pad, a plated layer, a wire, and an encapsulation resin. The substrate includes a main surface. The semiconductor element is mounted on the main surface and includes a main surface electrode. The connection pad is formed of Cu, arranged with respect to the substrate, separated from the substrate, and includes a connection surface. The plated layer is formed of Ni and partially covers the connection surface. The wire is formed of Al and bonded to the main surface electrode and the plated layer. The encapsulation resin encapsulates the semiconductor element, the connection pad, the plated layer, and the wire.

There is provided an Ag alloy bonding wire for semiconductor devices which exhibits a favorable bond reliability in a high-temperature environment even when using a mold resin of high S content and can suppress a chip damage at the time of ball bonding. The Ag alloy bonding wire is characterized by containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of Pd and Pt (hereinafter referred to as a “first element”) and at least one element selected from the group consisting of P, Cr, Zr and Mo (hereinafter referred to as a “second element”) so as to satisfy

[00001]$0.05\le \text{x}1\le 3.0,\text{and}$

[00002]$15\le \text{x}2\le 700$

where x1 is a total concentration of the first element [at.%] and x2 is a total concentration of the second element [at. ppm], with the balance including Ag.

There is provided an Ag alloy bonding wire for semiconductor devices which exhibits a favorable bond reliability in a high-temperature environment even when using a mold resin of high S content and can suppress a chip damage at the time of ball bonding. The Ag alloy bonding wire is characterized by containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of Pd and Pt (hereinafter referred to as a “first element”) and at least one element selected from the group consisting of P, Cr, Zr and Mo (hereinafter referred to as a “second element”) so as to satisfy

[00001]$0.05\le \text{x}1\le 3.0,\text{and}$

[00002]$15\le \text{x}2\le 700$

where x1 is a total concentration of the first element [at.%] and x2 is a total concentration of the second element [at. ppm], with the balance including Ag.

A tableted epoxy resin composition for encapsulation of semiconductor devices and a semiconductor device encapsulated using the tableted epoxy resin composition, the tableted epoxy resin composition satisfying the following conditions (i) a proportion of tablets of the tableted epoxy resin composition having a diameter of greater than or equal to 0.1 mm and less than 2.8 mm and a height of greater than or equal to 0.1 mm and less than 2.8 mm is about 97 wt % or more, as measured by sieve analysis using ASTM standard sieves; (ii) the tablets have a packed density of greater than about 1.7 g/mL; and (iii) a ratio of packed density to cured density of the tablets is about 0.6 to about 0.87.

A tableted epoxy resin composition for encapsulation of semiconductor devices and a semiconductor device encapsulated using the tableted epoxy resin composition, the tableted epoxy resin composition satisfying the following conditions (i) a proportion of tablets of the tableted epoxy resin composition having a diameter of greater than or equal to 0.1 mm and less than 2.8 mm and a height of greater than or equal to 0.1 mm and less than 2.8 mm is about 97 wt % or more, as measured by sieve analysis using ASTM standard sieves; (ii) the tablets have a packed density of greater than about 1.7 g/mL; and (iii) a ratio of packed density to cured density of the tablets is about 0.6 to about 0.87.

There is provided an Al bonding wire which can achieve a sufficient bonding reliability of bonded parts of the bonding wire under a high temperature state where a semiconductor device using the Al bonding wire is operated. The Al bonding wire contains 0.01 to 1% of Sc, and further contains 0.01 to 0.1% in total of at least one or more of Y, La, Ce, Pr and Nd. With regard to the Al bonding wire, a recrystallization temperature thereof is increased, so that the proceeding of recrystallization of the bonding wire can be suppressed, and strength of the wire can be prevented from being decreased even when the semiconductor device is continuously used under a high temperature environment. Accordingly, the Al bonding wire can sufficiently secure the reliability of the bonded parts after a high-temperature long-term hysteresis.