A force sensor for determining a bonding force during wire bonding operations includes: a piezoelectric sensing element mounted in an ultrasonic transducer of an ultrasonic wire bonding device, the piezoelectric sensing element including a first portion and a second portion, and first and second opposing surfaces, wherein the first surface of the first portion has a positive electrode and the second surface of the first portion has a negative electrode respectively, and the first surface of the second portion has a negative electrode and the second surface of the second portion has a positive electrode respectively.

A method of determining a shear strength of a bonded free air ball on a wire bonding machine is provided. The method includes the steps of: (a) providing a free air ball at a working end of a wire bonding tool; (b) bonding the free air ball to a bonding location of a workpiece; (c) moving the wire bonding tool, while in contact with the bonded free air ball, in a direction along the bonding location; (d) monitoring wire bonding process signals during step (c); and (e) determining a shear strength using the wire bonding process signals monitored in step (d).

A method of adjusting a clamping of a semiconductor element against a support structure on a wire bonding machine is provided. The method includes: (a) detecting an indicia of floating of the semiconductor element with respect to the support structure at a plurality of locations of the semiconductor element; and (b) adjusting the clamping of the semiconductor element against the support structure based on the results of step (a).

A wire bonding apparatus according to an embodiment bonds a wire to a bonding portion by generating an ultrasonic vibration in a state of pressing the wire onto the bonding portion. The wire bonding apparatus includes a bonding tool that causes the wire to contact the bonding portion and applies a load, an ultrasonic horn that generates the ultrasonic vibration, a load sensor that continuously detects the load applied from the bonding tool to the bonding portion, and a controller that controls the operation of the bonding tool and the ultrasonic horn. The controller analyzes data of the load output from the load sensor between when the wire contacts the bonding portion and when the ultrasonic vibration is generated, and controls the operation of the bonding tool and the ultrasonic horn based on an analysis result.

Bonding device for producing bonding connections, in particular wire bonding connections, tape bonding connections and ball bonding connections, on carriers fixed outside the bonding device and having contact surfaces for the bonding connections, in different spatial directions with respect to the respective carrier, the bonding device comprising a base body, a bonding tool which is movable relative to the base body for applying a bonding force to a bonding means placed on the contact surface of the carrier to produce a material bond between the bonding means and the contact surface as a bonding connection, and bonding force generating means for generating a bonding force directed towards the contact surface when the bonding tool is placed on the carrier, wherein the bonding force generating means comprise a bonding force setting device for realizing a predetermined effective bonding force independently of its spatial direction of action.

A method of determining a bonding status between a wire and at least one bonding location of a workpiece is provided. The method includes the steps of: (a) bonding a portion of a wire to a bonding location of a workpiece using a bonding tool of a wire bonding machine; (b) determining a motion profile of the bonding tool for determining if the portion of the wire is bonded to the bonding location, the motion profile being configured to result in the wire being broken during the motion profile if the portion of the wire is not bonded to the bonding location; and (c) moving the bonding tool along the motion profile to determine if the portion of the wire is bonded to the bonding location. Other methods of determining a bonding status between a wire and at least one bonding location of a workpiece are also provided.

A method of adjusting a clamping of a semiconductor element against a support structure on a wire bonding machine is provided. The method includes: (a) detecting an indicia of floating of the semiconductor element with respect to the support structure at a plurality of locations of the semiconductor element; and (b) adjusting the clamping of the semiconductor element against the support structure based on the results of step (a).

A method for calibrating a wire clamp device includes: preparing a wire clamp device provided with a pair of arm parts having tips for clamping a wire, the arms extending from the tips toward base ends, and a drive part provided with a piezoelectric element for drive, connected to the base ends of the pair of arm parts and opening/closing the tips of the pair of arm parts; a step of detecting, by electrical continuity between the tips, a timing at which the pair of arm parts enters a closed state when the piezoelectric element for drive is driven, and acquiring a reference voltage; and a step of calibrating, on the basis of the reference voltage, an application voltage to be applied to the piezoelectric element for drive. Thus, it is possible to perform accurate and stable wire bonding.

A wire bonding machine is provided. The wire bonding machine includes: (a) a wire bonding tool; (b) a wire guide for guiding a wire to a position beneath a bonding surface of the wire bonding tool, the wire guide being configured for movement between (i) an engagement position with respect to the wire bonding tool and (ii) a non-engagement position with respect to the wire bonding tool; and a cleaning station for cleaning at least a portion of a tip of the wire bonding tool when the wire guide is in the non-engagement position.

Method for producing wire bond connections between an electronic component or a module and a substrate with energy input into a bonding wire by an ultrasonic transducer, wherein during the energy input for forming a first wire bond connection, at least one bonding parameter characterizing the instantaneous state of the bonding wire is measured in dependence on time, the curve shape of the time dependence is differentiated by means of predetermined comparative criteria or curves into three curve sections and hereby the temporal course of the method into three phases, to be specific, a cleaning, a fusion and a tempering phase, and the energy fed into the ultrasonic transducer and/or the bonding force exerted on the bonding wire and/or the duration of the energy input into at least one partial section of at least the cleaning and the fusion phase, in particular each of the cleaning, fusion and tempering phases is/are controlled independent of the measurement result in quasi real time during the formation of the first wire bond connection or during the subsequent formation of a second wire bond connection of the same type in dependence on the curve shape in the associated curve section in a phase-specific manner.