A bonding wire for a semiconductor device includes a Cu alloy core material and a Pd coating layer formed on a surface thereof. Containing an element that provides bonding reliability in a high-temperature environment improves the bonding reliability of the ball bonded part in high temperature. Furthermore, making an orientation proportion of a crystal orientation <100> angled at 15 degrees or less to a wire longitudinal direction among crystal orientations in the wire longitudinal direction 30% or more when measuring crystal orientations on a cross-section of the core material in a direction perpendicular to a wire axis of the bonding wire, and making an average crystal grain size in the cross-section of the core material in the direction perpendicular to the wire axis of the bonding wire 0.9 to 1.5 m provides a strength ratio of 1.6 or less.

A bonding wire for a semiconductor device includes a Cu alloy core material and a Pd coating layer formed on a surface thereof. Containing an element that provides bonding reliability in a high-temperature environment improves the bonding reliability of the ball bonded part in high temperature. Furthermore, making an orientation proportion of a crystal orientation <100> angled at 15 degrees or less to a wire longitudinal direction among crystal orientations in the wire longitudinal direction 30% or more when measuring crystal orientations on a cross-section of the core material in a direction perpendicular to a wire axis of the bonding wire, and making an average crystal grain size in the cross-section of the core material in the direction perpendicular to the wire axis of the bonding wire 0.9 to 1.5 m provides a strength ratio of 1.6 or less.

A process for manufacturing a bonding wire containing a core having a surface. The core contains 98.0% copper and has a cross sectional area of 75,00 to 600,000 m.sup.2 and an elastic limit RP0.2 (yield strength) of 40 to 95 N/mm.sup.2. The process involves (a) providing a copper core precursor; (b) drawing the precursor until a final diameter of the wire core is reached; and (c) annealing the drawn wire at a minimum annealing temperature of 650 to 1000 C. through its entire cross section for a minimum annealing time of 4 seconds to 2 hours.

A process for manufacturing a bonding wire containing a core having a surface. The core contains 98.0% copper and has a cross sectional area of 75,00 to 600,000 m.sup.2 and an elastic limit RP0.2 (yield strength) of 40 to 95 N/mm.sup.2. The process involves (a) providing a copper core precursor; (b) drawing the precursor until a final diameter of the wire core is reached; and (c) annealing the drawn wire at a minimum annealing temperature of 650 to 1000 C. through its entire cross section for a minimum annealing time of 4 seconds to 2 hours.

A bonding wire includes a Cu alloy core material, and a Pd coating layer formed on the Cu alloy core material. The bonding wire contains at least one element selected from Ni, Zn, Rh, In, Ir, and Pt. A concentration of the elements in total relative to the entire wire is 0.03% by mass or more and 2% by mass or less. When measuring crystal orientations on a cross-section of the core material in a direction perpendicular to a wire axis of the bonding wire, a crystal orientation <100> angled at 15 degrees or less to a wire axis direction has a proportion of 50% or more among crystal orientations in the wire axis direction. An average crystal grain size in the cross-section of the core material in the direction perpendicular to the wire axis of the bonding wire is 0.9 m or more and 1.3 m or less.

A bonding wire includes a Cu alloy core material, and a Pd coating layer formed on the Cu alloy core material. The bonding wire contains at least one element selected from Ni, Zn, Rh, In, Ir, and Pt. A concentration of the elements in total relative to the entire wire is 0.03% by mass or more and 2% by mass or less. When measuring crystal orientations on a cross-section of the core material in a direction perpendicular to a wire axis of the bonding wire, a crystal orientation <100> angled at 15 degrees or less to a wire axis direction has a proportion of 50% or more among crystal orientations in the wire axis direction. An average crystal grain size in the cross-section of the core material in the direction perpendicular to the wire axis of the bonding wire is 0.9 m or more and 1.3 m or less.

A bonding wire for a semiconductor device includes a Cu alloy core material and a Pd coating layer on a surface of the Cu alloy core material, and contains Ga and Ge of 0.011 to 1.2% by mass in total, which is able to increase bonding longevity of the ball bonded part in the high-temperature, high-humidity environment, and thus to improve the bonding reliability. The thickness of the Pd coating layer is preferably 0.015 to 0.150 m. When the bonding wire further contains one or more elements of Ni, Ir, and Pt in an amount, for each element, of 0.011 to 1.2% by mass, it is able to improve the reliability of the ball bonded part in a high-temperature environment at 175 C. or more. When an alloy skin layer containing Au and Pd is further formed on a surface of the Pd coating layer, wedge bondability improves.

A bonding wire for a semiconductor device includes a Cu alloy core material and a Pd coating layer on a surface of the Cu alloy core material, and contains Ga and Ge of 0.011 to 1.2% by mass in total, which is able to increase bonding longevity of the ball bonded part in the high-temperature, high-humidity environment, and thus to improve the bonding reliability. The thickness of the Pd coating layer is preferably 0.015 to 0.150 m. When the bonding wire further contains one or more elements of Ni, Ir, and Pt in an amount, for each element, of 0.011 to 1.2% by mass, it is able to improve the reliability of the ball bonded part in a high-temperature environment at 175 C. or more. When an alloy skin layer containing Au and Pd is further formed on a surface of the Pd coating layer, wedge bondability improves.

A bonding wire for a semiconductor device includes a Cu alloy core material and a Pd coating layer formed on a surface thereof, and the boding wire contains one or more elements of As, Te, Sn, Sb, Bi and Se in a total amount of 0.1 to 100 ppm by mass. The bonding longevity of a ball bonded part can increase in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, improving the bonding reliability. When the Cu alloy core material further contains one or more of Ni, Zn, Rh, In, Ir, Pt, Ga and Ge in an amount, for each, of 0.011 to 1.2% by mass, it is able to increase the reliability of a ball bonded part in a high-temperature environment of 170 C. or more. When an alloy skin layer containing Au and Pd is further formed on a surface of the Pd coating layer, wedge bondability improves.

A bonding wire for a semiconductor device includes a Cu alloy core material and a Pd coating layer formed on a surface thereof, and the boding wire contains one or more elements of As, Te, Sn, Sb, Bi and Se in a total amount of 0.1 to 100 ppm by mass. The bonding longevity of a ball bonded part can increase in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, improving the bonding reliability. When the Cu alloy core material further contains one or more of Ni, Zn, Rh, In, Ir, Pt, Ga and Ge in an amount, for each, of 0.011 to 1.2% by mass, it is able to increase the reliability of a ball bonded part in a high-temperature environment of 170 C. or more. When an alloy skin layer containing Au and Pd is further formed on a surface of the Pd coating layer, wedge bondability improves.