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 semiconductor device includes a semiconductor element circuit, a conductive support and a sealing resin. The conductive support includes a die pad, first terminals spaced in a first direction, second terminals spaced in the first direction and opposite to the first terminals in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and a support terminal connected to the die pad. The sealing resin encapsulates portions of the first and second terminals, a portion of the support terminal, the semiconductor element circuit and the die pad. The sealing resin has two first side surfaces spaced apart in the second direction and two second side surfaces spaced apart in the first direction. The first terminals and second terminals are exposed from the first side surfaces, while none of the elements of the conductive support is exposed from the second side surfaces.

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 general aspect, a wire bonding apparatus can include a supply of bond wire, a wire bonding head, and an electrical continuity tester. The wire bonding head can including a wire cutter. The wire cutter can be electrically conductive. The electrical continuity tester can be coupled between the supply of bond wire and the wire cutter.

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 integrated circuit chip is attached to a support that includes first conductive elements. First conductive pads are located on the integrated circuit chip and are electrically coupled to the first conductive elements by conductive wires. The integrated circuit chip further includes a conductive track. A switch circuit is provided to selectively electrically connect each first conductive pad to the conductive track. To test the conductive wires, a group of first conductive pads are connected by their respective switch circuits to the conductive track and current flow between corresponding first conductive elements is measured.

Wire removal systems and methods for packaging applications. In some embodiments, a method of manufacturing a module can include receiving by an automated wire cutting apparatus a packaging substrate including a die mounted thereon and a defective wire coupled thereto, positioning one or both of a wire cutting instrument of the automated wire cutting apparatus and the packaging substrate relative to the other based on predetermined instructions, and detaching the defective wire from the packaging substrate using the wire cutting instrument.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a semiconductor chip, a plurality of bonding pads on a surface of the semiconductor chip, a plurality of probe pads on a surface of the semiconductor chip, a plurality of connection pads on a surface of the substrate, and a plurality of bonding wires that electrically connect the bonding pads and the connection pads. The plurality of bonding pads include a first bonding pad and a second bonding pad, the plurality of probe pads include a first probe pad and a second probe pad, and a part of the first probe pad is disposed between the second bonding pad and the second probe pad.

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.

A semiconductor system includes a first semiconductor chip, a second semiconductor chip stacked above the first semiconductor chip, a controller configured to control the first and second semiconductor chips, a first wiring connected between the controller and each of the first and second semiconductor chips and by which a first signal is to be transmitted from the controller to each of the first and second semiconductor chips, a second wiring connected between the controller and the first semiconductor chip and by which a current of the first signal flowing through the first wiring to the first semiconductor chip is to be returned to the controller, and a third wiring connected between the controller and the second semiconductor chip and by which a current of the first signal flowing through the first wiring to the second semiconductor chip is to be returned to the controller.