There is provided a novel Cu bonding wire that achieves a favorable FAB shape and reduces a galvanic corrosion in a high-temperature environment to achieve a favorable bond reliability of the 2nd bonding part. The bonding wire for semiconductor devices includes a core material of Cu or Cu alloy, and a coating layer having a total concentration of Pd and Ni of 90 atomic % or more formed on a surface of the core material. The bonding wire is characterized in that: in a concentration profile in a depth direction of the wire obtained by performing measurement using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) so that the number of measurement points in the depth direction is 50 or more for the coating layer, a thickness of the coating layer is 10 nm or more and 130 nm or less, an average value X is 0.2 or more and 35.0 or less where X is defined as an average value of a ratio of a Pd concentration C.sub.Pd (atomic %) to an Ni concentration C.sub.Ni (atomic %), C.sub.Pd/C.sub.Ni, for all measurement points in the coating layer, and the total number of measurement points in the coating layer whose absolute deviation from the average value X is 0.3X or less is 50% or more relative to the total number of measurement points in the coating layer.

In a described example, an apparatus includes: a package substrate having a die mount portion and lead portions spaced from the die mount portion; a semiconductor die over the die mount portion having bond pads on an active surface facing away from the package substrate; non-gold bond wires forming electrical connections between at least one of the bond pads and one of the lead portions of the package substrate; a bond stitch on bump connection formed between one of the non-gold bond wires and a bond pad of the semiconductor die, comprising a stitch bond formed on a flex stud bump; and dielectric material covering a portion of the package substrate, the semiconductor die, the non-gold bond wires, the stitch bond and the flex stud bump, forming a packaged semiconductor device.

A height of a vertical wire interconnection bonded onto a substrate is measured by first capturing a top view of the vertical wire interconnection and identifying a position of a tip end of the vertical wire interconnection from the top view. A conductive probe is located over the tip end of the vertical wire interconnection, and is lowered towards the vertical wire interconnection until an electrical connection is made between the conductive probe and the tip end of the vertical wire interconnection. A contact height at which the electrical connection is made may thus be determined, wherein the contact height corresponds to the height of the vertical wire interconnection.

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.

A display device including a display panel including a first panel pad, a first circuit board including a first pad spaced from the first panel pad and a coating member on the first pad, and a wire connecting the first panel pad and the first pad to each other. The coating member includes a same material as the wire and integrally connected to the wire.

A wire bonding tool includes a tool body with a tubular cavity extending through the tool body and a distal end. The distal end includes a flared opening at an end of the tubular cavity. The tool body further includes at least one protrusion at a level of the distal end.

A method of operating a wire bonding machine is provided. The method includes: (a) operating a wire bonding machine during at least one of (i) an automatic wire bonding operation and (ii) a dry cycle wire bonding operation, wherein a bonding force is applied during the operation of the wire bonding machine; and (b) monitoring an accuracy of the bonding force of the wire bonding machine during the at least one of (i) an automatic wire bonding operation and (ii) a dry cycle wire bonding operation.

A semiconductor device includes a mounting substrate having a first surface, a semiconductor chip mounted on the first surface and having a second surface facing a side opposite to the first surface, and a wire extending from a first joint point on the first surface toward a second joint point on the second surface and electrically connecting the mounting substrate and the semiconductor chip to each other by connecting the first joint point and the second joint point to each other. The wire includes a first part, a first bent portion, a second part, a second bent portion, and a third part arranged in order from the first joint point toward the second joint point. The first part is positioned on the first surface side with respect to the second surface when viewed in a first direction along the first surface and the second surface.

A method of operating a wire bonding machine is provided. The method includes: (a) operating a wire bonding machine during at least one of (i) an automatic wire bonding operation and (ii) a dry cycle wire bonding operation, wherein a bonding force is applied during the operation of the wire bonding machine; and (b) monitoring an accuracy of the bonding force of the wire bonding machine during the at least one of (i) an automatic wire bonding operation and (ii) a dry cycle wire bonding operation.

A noble metal-coated silver bonding wire suppresses corrosion at the bonding interface under severe conditions of high temperature and high humidity, and the noble metal-coated silver bonding wire can be ball-bonded in the air. The noble metal-coated silver wire for ball bonding is a noble metal-coated silver wire including a noble metal coating layer on a core material made of pure silver or a silver alloy, wherein the wire contains at least one sulfur group element, the noble metal coating layer includes a palladium intermediate layer and a gold skin layer, the palladium content relative to the entire wire is 0.01 mass % or more and 5.0 mass % or less, the gold content relative to the entire wire is 1.0 mass % or more and 6.0 mass % or less, and the sulfur group element content relative to the entire wire is 0.1 mass ppm or more and 100 mass ppm or less.