A gold alloy wire for wedge bonding, comprising 1 to 100 parts per million by weight of calcium (Ca), the remainder being gold and inevitable impurities, said gold alloy wire having a tensile strength of not less than 33.0 kg/mm.sup.2 and an elongation of 1 to 3%. The gold alloy wire has a gold purity of not less than 99.9% or further comprises 0.2 to 5.0% by weight of at least one element selected from the group consisting of Pd, Ag and Pt.

Disclosed is a semiconductor device including a conductive pattern on a substrate, a passivation layer on the substrate and including an opening that partially exposes the conductive pattern, and a pad structure in the opening of the passivation layer and connected to the conductive pattern. The pad structure includes a first metal layer that fills the opening of the passivation layer and has a width greater than that of the opening, and a second metal layer on the first metal layer. The first metal layer has a first thickness at an outer wall of the first metal layer, a second thickness on a top surface of the passivation layer, and a third thickness on a top surface of the conductive pattern. The second thickness is greater than the first thickness, and the third thickness is greater than the second thickness.

Disclosed is a semiconductor device including a conductive pattern on a substrate, a passivation layer on the substrate and including an opening that partially exposes the conductive pattern, and a pad structure in the opening of the passivation layer and connected to the conductive pattern. The pad structure includes a first metal layer that fills the opening of the passivation layer and has a width greater than that of the opening, and a second metal layer on the first metal layer. The first metal layer has a first thickness at an outer wall of the first metal layer, a second thickness on a top surface of the passivation layer, and a third thickness on a top surface of the conductive pattern. The second thickness is greater than the first thickness, and the third thickness is greater than the second thickness.

Microelectronic devices and methods for manufacturing such devices are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a packaged microelectronic device can include an interposer substrate with a plurality of interposer contacts. A microelectronic die is attached and electrically coupled to the interposer substrate. The device further includes a casing covering the die and at least a portion of the interposer substrate. A plurality of electrically conductive through-casing interconnects are in contact with and projecting from corresponding interposer contacts at a first side of the interposer substrate. The through-casing interconnects extend through the thickness of the casing to a terminus at the top of the casing. The through-casing interconnects comprise a plurality of filaments attached to and projecting away from the interposer contacts in a direction generally normal to the first side of the interposer substrate.

A semiconductor device according to the present invention includes a semiconductor chip, an electrode pad made of a metal material containing aluminum and formed on a top surface of the semiconductor chip, an electrode lead disposed at a periphery of the semiconductor chip, a bonding wire having a linearly-extending main body portion and having a pad bond portion and a lead bond portion formed at respective ends of the main body portion and respectively bonded to the electrode pad and the electrode lead, and a resin package sealing the semiconductor chip, the electrode lead, and the bonding wire, the bonding wire is made of copper, and the entire electrode pad and the entire pad bond portion are integrally covered by a water-impermeable film.

A lead-free solder ball is provided which suppresses interfacial peeling in a bonding interface of a solder ball, fusion defects which develop between the solder ball and solder paste, and which can be used both with Ni electrodes plated with Au or the like and Cu electrodes having a water-soluble preflux applied atop Cu. The lead-free solder ball for electrodes of BGAs or CSPs consists of 1.6-2.9 mass % of Ag, 0.7-0.8 mass % of Cu, 0.05-0.08 mass % of Ni, and a remainder of Sn. It has excellent resistance to thermal fatigue and to drop impacts regardless of the type of electrodes of a printed circuit board to which it is bonded, which are Cu electrodes or Ni electrodes having Au plating or Au/Pd plating as surface treatment.

A lead-free solder ball is provided which suppresses interfacial peeling in a bonding interface of a solder ball, fusion defects which develop between the solder ball and solder paste, and which can be used both with Ni electrodes plated with Au or the like and Cu electrodes having a water-soluble preflux applied atop Cu. The lead-free solder ball for electrodes of BGAs or CSPs consists of 1.6-2.9 mass % of Ag, 0.7-0.8 mass % of Cu, 0.05-0.08 mass % of Ni, and a remainder of Sn. It has excellent resistance to thermal fatigue and to drop impacts regardless of the type of electrodes of a printed circuit board to which it is bonded, which are Cu electrodes or Ni electrodes having Au plating or Au/Pd plating as surface treatment.

A semiconductor package that includes a conductive can, a power semiconductor device electrically and mechanically attached to the inside surface of the can, and an IC semiconductor device copackaged with the power semiconductor device inside the can.

Methods of forming a microelectronic packaging structure and associated structures formed thereby are described. Those methods may include forming a cavity in a plating material to hold a die, attaching the die in the cavity, forming a dielectric material adjacent the die, forming vias in the dielectric material adjacent the die, forming PoP lands in the vias, forming interconnects in the vias, and then removing the plating material to expose the PoP lands and die, wherein the die is disposed above the PoP lands.

A method of forming an implantable electrode array that includes one or more packaged control modules. A control module is packaged by mounting the module to a substrate and forming a containment ring around the module. A conformal coating is disposed over the surface of the module to cover the carrier. Within the containment ring, the conformal coating hardens to form a non-porous shell around the control module. The one or more packaged control modules are placed in a flexible array. Electrodes that are mounted to or embedded in the flexible carrier are connected to the one or more control modules.