An ultrasonic welding apparatus joins metal pieces, such as wires, which are placed in a weldment zone where the metal pieces are subjected to pressure through a compressive height anvil and an adjustable width anvil, and intimate contact is made with a sonotrode of an ultrasonic stack. A first electric motor actuates movement of the height anvil to develop a compressive force for ultrasonic welding of the metal pieces. A second electric motor can position the width anvil before and during welding. A sensor, such as a load cell, measures the compressive force developed. The sensor directly can measure the load on the height anvil independent of the ultrasonic stack. A software algorithm can compensate for deflection of the load cell sensor and lost motion in the first electric motor actuating movement.

An ultrasonic welding device includes a sonotrode, an anvil, a receiving chamber in which joining partners to be welded are to be received and which is defined on opposing sides by the sonotrode on the one hand and by the anvil on the other hand, and a camera assembly with at least one camera which is integrated in the ultrasonic welding device. The camera assembly is configured to record images of at least one partial region of the receiving chamber for the optical monitoring of welding conditions which have an impact on welds of the joining partners.

An ultrasonic wave is applied to an upper surface of an ingot via a liquid layer, in a state in which an outer circumferential region of a lower surface of the ingot is sucked. A lower side around an outer circumferential arc-shaped portion of the lower surface of the ingot is open so that liquid that serves as a medium of the ultrasonic wave does not collect around the outer circumferential arc-shaped portion of the lower surface of the ingot. As a result, a peel-off layer formed in the ingot is not immersed in liquid when an ultrasonic wave is applied to the upper surface of the ingot via the liquid layer. Consequently, even when the ingot becomes thin, the ingot can be separated at the peel-off layer, and a wafer can be peeled off from the ingot.

Provided is a semiconductor module including: a layered substrate on which a semiconductor chip is provided; and a connection terminal including a connection portion connected to the layered substrate, wherein the connection portion includes at least one ultrasonic connection section, and at least one laser-welded section, at least a portion of which is provided at a location other than a location at which the ultrasonic connection section is provided. The at least one ultrasonic connection section may be provided to be closer to the leading end of the connection portion than the at least one laser-welded section is.

An ultrasonic welding device includes a sonotrode, an anvil, a touching element, a lateral slide, a first stop element, a drive device, and a receiving chamber in which joining partners are to be received. The receiving chamber is defined on a first side by a surface of the sonotrode and on a second side opposing the first side by a surface of the anvil. The receiving chamber is further defined on a third side by a surface of the touching element and on a fourth side opposing the third side by a surface of the lateral slide. The first stop element is displaceable between a pulled-in position and a pulled-out position. The first stop element in the pulled-in position defines the receiving chamber on a fifth side extending transverse to the first to fourth sides and in the pulled-out position leaves the receiving chamber open on the fifth side.

An ultrasonic welding device includes a sonotrode, an anvil, a touching element, a lateral slide, a first stop element, a drive device, and a receiving chamber in which joining partners are to be received. The receiving chamber is defined on a first side by a surface of the sonotrode and on a second side opposing the first side by a surface of the anvil. The receiving chamber is further defined on a third side by a surface of the touching element and on a fourth side opposing the third side by a surface of the lateral slide. The first stop element is displaceable between a pulled-in position and a pulled-out position. The first stop element in the pulled-in position defines the receiving chamber on a fifth side extending transverse to the first to fourth sides and in the pulled-out position leaves the receiving chamber open on the fifth side.

A wire bonding method includes bonding a tip of a wire provided through a clamp and a capillary onto a bonding pad of a chip, moving the capillary to a connection pad of a substrate corresponding to the bonding pad, bonding the wire to the connection pad to form a bonding wire connecting the bonding pad to the connection pad, before the capillary is raised from the connection pad, applying a electrical signal to the wire to detect whether the wire and the connection pad are in contact with each other, changing a state of the clamp to a closed state when the wire is not in contact with the connection pad and maintaining the state of the clamp in an open state when the wire is in contact with the connection pad, and raising the capillary from the connection pad while maintaining the state of the clamp.

An embodiment relates to an ultrasonic additive manufacturing process, comprising joining a foil comprising a bulk metallic glass to a substrate; and forming a cladded composite comprising the foil and the substrate; wherein a thickness of the cladded composite is greater than a critical casting thickness of the bulk metallic glass, wherein the cladded composite comprises a cladding layer of the bulk metallic glass on the substrate and the bulk metallic glass comprises approximately 0% crystallinity, approximately 0% porosity, less than 50 MPa thermal stress, approximately 0% distortion, approximately 0 inch heat affected zone, approximately 0% dilution, and a strength of about 2,000-3,500 MPa.

An embodiment relates to an ultrasonic additive manufacturing process, comprising joining a foil comprising a bulk metallic glass to a substrate; and forming a cladded composite comprising the foil and the substrate; wherein a thickness of the cladded composite is greater than a critical casting thickness of the bulk metallic glass, wherein the cladded composite comprises a cladding layer of the bulk metallic glass on the substrate and the bulk metallic glass comprises approximately 0% crystallinity, approximately 0% porosity, less than 50 MPa thermal stress, approximately 0% distortion, approximately 0 inch heat affected zone, approximately 0% dilution, and a strength of about 2,000-3,500 MPa.

A sonotrode assembly for an ultrasonic welding device. The sonotrode assembly includes a oscillator assembly and a cooling device. The cooling device includes at least one cooling body. The cooling body is held supported in the cooling device in such a manner that the cooling body is reversibly displaceable between an abutting position in which a contact surface of the cooling body abuts on a contact surface of the oscillator assembly and a spaced position in which the contact surface of the cooling body is spaced apart from the contact surface of the oscillator assembly.