Current Handling Capability and Bond Degradation of Bond Wires under Pulsed Conditions

Results detailing the current handling capability of Gold bond wires (1 mil diameter), and Aluminum ribbon (1mil x 10 mil) under pulsed conditions are presented. Gold wire bonds were formed through the ball-bonding technique, and the Aluminum wire was bonded through the wedge bonding technique. Both wires were bonded to gold plated bond pads. Varying peak current densities ranging from $2 \mathrm {x}10 ^{4}\mathrm {A}$ cm $^{-2}$ to $2 \mathrm {x}10 ^{7}\mathrm {A}$ cm $^{-2}$ were applied to bond wires at pulse-widths ranging from 50 ns to $500 \mu \mathrm {s}$. In addition, the effect of surrounding medium (SF
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, HV epoxy, transformer oil) on the current capability was investigated. Failure modes observed were investigated with SEM imaging, and the evolution of these failure modes during current pulsing was captured with high-speeding imaging. Finally, the obtained results are compared with the experimental and theoretical results obtained from previous investigations conducted on exploding wires.