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.

The present invention provides a bonding wire capable of simultaneously satisfying ball bonding reliability and wedge bondability required of bonding wires for memories, the bonding wire including a core material containing one or more of Ga, In, and Sn for a total of 0.1 to 3.0 at % with a balance being made up of Ag and incidental impurities; and a coating layer formed over a surface of the core material, containing one or more of Pd and Pt, or Ag and one or more of Pd and Pt, with a balance being made up of incidental impurities, wherein the coating layer is 0.005 to 0.070 m in thickness.

A semiconductor device inspection device includes a semiconductor device stage, a sound wave generator, a laser emitter, a photoreceiver, and a processing circuit. The sound wave generator is configured to generate a sound wave having a natural frequency of a bonding wire included in a semiconductor device placed on the semiconductor device stage. The laser emitter is configured to direct laser toward the bonding wire while the sound wave generator generates the sound wave. The photoreceiver is configured to receive the laser reflected by the bonding wire and output a signal corresponding to the received laser. The processing circuit is configured to detect a bonding failure of the bonding wire based on the signal output by the photoreceiver.

A gold-coated silver bonding wire includes: a core material containing silver as a main component; and a coating layer provided on a surface of the core material and containing gold as a main component. The gold-coated silver bonding wire contains gold in a range of not less than 2 mass % nor more than 7 mass %, and at least one sulfur group element selected from the group consisting of sulfur, selenium, and tellurium in a range of not less than 1 mass ppm nor more than 80 mass ppm, with respect to a total content of the bonding wire.

A semiconductor device includes two or more semiconductor elements, a lead with island portions on which the semiconductor elements are mounted, a heat dissipation member for dissipating heat from the island portions, a bonding layer bonding the island portions and the heat dissipation member, and a sealing resin covering the semiconductor elements, the island portions and a part of the heat dissipation member. The bonding layer includes mutually spaced individual regions provided for the island portions, respectively.

The present invention comprises: a spool (10); a damper (22); a torch electrode (31); a high-voltage power source circuit (30); a non-bonding detection circuit (40); a first changeover switch (50) switching a connection between the spool (10) and the high-voltage power source circuit (30) or the non-bonding detection circuit (40); and a relay (53) turning on/off a connection between the damper (22) and a spool side of the first changeover switch (50), and comprises a control part (60) that sets the first changeover switch (50) to the high-voltage power source circuit side and turns off the relay (53) to generate electric discharge, and that sets the first changeover switch (50) to the non-bonding detection circuit side and turns on the relay (53) to perform non-bonding detection. Due to this configuration, electric corrosion of a wire damper can be suppressed and non-bonding detection can be carried out with a simple configuration.

A semiconductor device inspection device includes a semiconductor device stage, a sound wave generator, a laser emitter, a photoreceiver, and a processing circuit. The sound wave generator is configured to generate a sound wave having a natural frequency of a bonding wire included in a semiconductor device placed on the semiconductor device stage. The laser emitter is configured to direct laser toward the bonding wire while the sound wave generator generates the sound wave. The photoreceiver is configured to receive the laser reflected by the bonding wire and output a signal corresponding to the received laser. The processing circuit is configured to detect a bonding failure of the bonding wire based on the signal output by the photoreceiver.

A wire bonding apparatus includes: a first tensioner which forms, nearer a wire supply side than a bonding tool, a first gas flow for applying a tension toward the wire supply side on a wire; a second tensioner which forms, between the first tensioner and a pressing part of the bonding tool, a second gas flow for applying a tension toward the wire supply side on the wire; and a control part which controls the first tensioner and the second tensioner. The control part implements control, in a predetermined period after a first bonding step for bonding the wire to a first bonding point, to turn off at least the second gas flow of the second tensioner among the first tensioner and the second tensioner or to make at least the second gas flow smaller than in the first bonding step.

A bonding wire includes a wire core including a silver-palladium alloy. A coating layer is disposed on a sidewall of the wire core. A palladium content of the silver-palladium alloy ranges from about 0.1 wt % to about 1.5 wt %.

The bonding wire being a Pd-coated copper bonding wire includes: a copper core material; and a Pd layer and containing a sulfur group element, in which with respect to the total of copper, Pd, and the sulfur group element, a concentration of Pd is 1.0 mass % to 4.0 mass % and a total concentration of the sulfur group element is 50 mass ppm or less, and a concentration of S is 5 mass ppm to 2 mass ppm, a concentration of Se is 5 mass ppm to 20 mass ppm, or a concentration of Te is 15 mass ppm to 50 mass ppm or less. A wire bonding structure includes a Pd-concentrated region with the concentration of Pd being 2.0 mass % or more relative to the total of Al, copper, and Pd near a bonding surface of an Al-containing electrode of a semiconductor chip and a ball bonding portion.