SE@RS ACTIJA~ORS

ELSEVIER Sensors Actuators 65 ( 1998)69-75 and A

PHYSICAL

Ultrasonic wire-bond quality monitoring using piezoelectric sensor

S.W. Or ,, H.L.W. Chan a,*, V.C. Lo a, C.W. Yuen b
Depnrrrnent ofApplied Physics md Muterids Resecuch Center, The Hong Kong Polytechnic Universii), Hmghom, Ko~loon, h ASM Assembly Autornatior~ Ltd.. 4/F, Watson Center, 16 Kmg Yip Street, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Hong Kong

Received March 1997;revised June1997;accepted July 1997 18 17 20

Abstract This paper describesan ultrasonic wire-bond quality monitoring technique which involves the detection of changesin the mechanical impedance of the bond zone during bond formation by tnonitoring the changesin the ultrasonic vibrations of an ultrasonic wire-bonding transducer system. A lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric ceramic having properties similar to the commercial PZT-5A has been selectedas the sensormaterial. A PZT piezoelectricsensoris installed on an appropriate location on the transducer in order to measurethe ultrasonic amplitude and bonding time during the bonding process.This sensorhasdimensions 1 mm X 1 mm X 0.245 tnm to avoid excessive loading on the transducerand to obtain a flat frequency response.A bond quality monitoring systemhas been developedto processand record the non-linear signal detectedby the sensor.More significant changesare observed at the higher-frequencyharmonics (second harmonic) of the ultrasonic signal. Good correlation is found between the change in the second harmonic and the bond quality. Bonding processdrift towards unacceptablebond quality can be identified. This technique will be used to develop a multiparameter-basedautomatic process-control systemfor wire bonding. 0 1998 ElsevierScienceS.A.
Keyords;

Ultrasonicwire-bundquality monitorin techniques: g Ultrasonic wire-bonding transducers: piezoelectric PZT sensors; Second harmonic;Bond

quality

1. Introduction In the microelectronics industry, wire bonding is classified as the first-level packaging. It is a widely used method that provides electrical interconnections from the terminals on an IC chip to those on a chip carrier. An ultrasonic wire bonder (Fig. 1) by and large consists of a phase-locked-loop (PLL) ultrasonic generator, an ultrasonic transducer system (a piezoelectric driver. a barrel, a concentrator and a bonding wedge), a workholder to support the materials to be bonded, and means for applying a static compressive force to the materials being bonded. Over the years, various models have been postulated in describing the possible mechanisms involved in ultrasonic wire bonding [ 141. For quality control purposes. it is convenient to model the mechanism as follows [ 51: the materials being bonded are first brought into contact under an external static compressive force, producing some initial defomlation but no adhesion due to the presence of surface films or oxides. Energy is then introduced via the transducer which vibrates at ultrasonic frequency (about 60 kHz), thus resulting in * Corresponding author.Tel.: i 85227665692.Fax: + 85223337629. apahlcha~polyu.edu.hk

E-mail:

oscillatory forces parallel to the wire-pad interface. The wire softens upon absorption of energy and flows under loading, breaking up the surface oxides and exposing a fresh surface of both the wire and the bonding pad. These freshly exposed surfaces of metal cold-weld readily. The interfacial movement is progressively restricted by the formation of multiple microwelds in the peripheral area of the contact zone. Continued application of cyclic stresses produces plastic deformation of the wire, increasing the contact area (and resulting welded area) under the effect of the static force. Bond strength develops by increasing the area and numbers of individual microwelds, and is a function of total area and depth of interaction. It should be noted that prolonged excitation may produce fatigue rupture or work hardening of existing microwelds. Final bond strength may also be affected by external factors, e.g., reduction of actual wire strength because of excessive necking under the heel of the wedge. The bond quality can vary appreciably even when bonding machine settings are identical due to a wide range of process variables, and wire bonds are not amenable to conventional NDT weld inspection techniques. Current bond quality assurance/control techniques are mainly based on periodic calibration of the bonding parameters to obtain the optimum settings, visual inspection of the appearance of bonds and

0924~4247/98/$19.00 1998Elsevier 0 Science All rightsreserved S.A.

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Oscillatory

Shear Forces

Fig. 1. Diagram

of an ultrasonic

wire-bonding

system.

batch destructive testing (pull and shear tests) after bonding. This is clearly an expensive and time-consuming process. Following the increasing adoption of automatic bonding machines capable of high production rates with only limited supervision, in-process monitoring and control of the wirebonding process is required. In-process monitoring seems to be a desirable and promising means for use in bonding quality control [ 6-131. Some preliminary work in this area has been performed and reported by us [ 14,151. Presented here are some details of an ultrasonic wire-bond quality monitoring technique that makes use of a piezoelectric sensor to evaluate the bond quality during the bonding process by monitoring the second harmonic of the ultrasonic signal.

2. Principle of monitoring

During the formation of a bond, the mechanical impedance of the bond zone changes in a continuous way as described earlier. The boundary conditions at the tip of the bonding wedge, where the bonding process occurs, also change continuously. These effectively change the vibration characteristics (resonance frequency and vibration displacement amplitude) of the ultrasonic transducer system. The characteristics are different depending on whether the tip is free, fixed, or damped in some way. By attaching a PZT sensor on the surface of the transducer, the changes in bond zone during bonding can be detected by the sensor.

determined by measuring the capacitance and dissipation factor at 1 kHz using the same analyser. The density was determined by Archimedes principle and checked by weighing and dimension measurements. The piezoelectric charge coefficient was measured by a Pennebaker model 8000 d,, Tester at 60 Hz. According to the IEEE Standard on Piezoelectricity [ 161 and the IRE Standards on Piezoelectric Crystals [ 171, the electromechanical properties were as given in Table 1. The results show that this ceramic has similar properties to the commercial PZT-SA ceramic [ 1X] , which is a good sensing element. The large electromechanical coupling factor k, indicates that the sensitivity of the fabricated sensor will be good. The high relative permittivity & / 6 can minimize the cable loading effect on performance. The low dissipation factor tan6 ensures a low heating effect. The high charge coefficient & together with the high permittivity still gives a reasonable voltage constant g,,. This indicates that the fabricated device will also be useful as a receiving device. The characteristic acoustic impedance 2 is about 30.6 megarayl and this matches reasonably well to the ultrasonic transducer (for Al alloy, Z,, = 14 megarayl).
3.2. Characteristics of PZT piezoelectric sensor

3. Piezoelectric material and piezoelectric sensor 3.1. EIectromechnnicnlproperties of piezoelectric sensor material

In order to avoid excessive loading on the transducer but to ensure ease of handling, the sensor should be moderately small. Moreover, the sensor should be designed such that the frequency response is flat (non-resonant) over the frequency range of operation. For a piezoelectric material, it is noted that the resonance frequency of a particular mode is inversely proportional to the dimension of that mode. To meet the above requirements, the PZT ceramic was cut into a number of small elements
Table 1 Electromechanical properties of the PZT sample 0.418 1759.4 0.018 321 20.6 2010.2 7610 4020.5 30.6

The piezoelectric material selected for sensor fabrication is alead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) piezoelectricceramicsupplied by Zhongshan University, China. It comes in the form of a 6.9 mm radius, 0.245 mm thick disk, poled in the thickness (or the 3-) direction, and silver-electroded on the two flat surfaces. The electrical impedance and phase angle as a function of frequency (thickness and radial mode resonances) were measured using a HP 4194A Impedance/Gain Phase Analyser. The permittivity and loss of the material were

Thickness electromechanical coupling factor, k, Relative permittivity at I kHz, free, &/Q Dissipation factor at 1 kHz, tan8 Piezoelectric charge coefficient, d,, (IO-* m V-) Piezoelectric voltage coefficient, g33 ( 10W3 V m N- ) Thickness frequency constant, N3, (Hz m) Density, p (kg m-3) Longitudinal velocity, up ( m s - ) Characteristic acoustic impedance, Z (megarayl)

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(hereinafter called PZT sensors) with dimensions approximately equal to 1 mm X 1 mm X 0.245 mm using a high-speed diamond saw (ECOMET 2000). The resonance characteristics of a typical PZT sensor were measured using the HP 4194A Impedance/Gain Phase Analyser. Both thickness and radial mode resonances were observed to appear in the megahertz region. The sensor behaves like a capacitor. No prominent resonances were observed over the frequency range of interest (20-200 kHz). This indicates that the sensor is suitable for monitoring the changes of the fundamental frequency (62.5 l&z) and the second harmonic during the bonding process.

Insulating

Varnish?

Silver-based

Ultrasonic Fig. 2. Schematic diagram

Transducer for mounting the PZT sensor.

S= V/d=3

mV nm-i

(1)

4. Mounting

the PZT sensor

5. The bond quality monitor The bond quality monitor consists of a PZT sensor, a signal processor, a digital oscilloscope (HP 54522A) and a computer (Fig. 3). The signal processor comprises a high-inputimpedance buffer, a set of amplifiers and a second-harmonic filter. In order to avoid loading on the sensor performance, the non-linear signal detected by the PZT sensor is first a.c.coupled by the high-input-impedance buffer to the signal processor. The buffered sensor signal, with 62.5 kHz (the fundamental resonance frequency of the transducer) dominant, is then applied to an input of the oscilloscope and also to a set of amplifiers to acquire the desired gain. The amplified signal is then filtered by the second-harmonic (125 kHz) bandpass filter and the second harmonic is input to the other channel of the oscilloscope. Together with the buffered sensor signal, it is recorded by the oscilloscope and stored in the computer. 6. Bond quality testing One very important factor involved in the bond quality is the bond strength. To check the bond quality, visual inspec-

Basically, there are three criteria for the choice of sensor location(s). The location should be: ( 1) capable of producing strong sensor output: (2) sensitive to the change of boundary conditions at the tip of the wedge; and (3) chosen such that the sensor would not be damaged during the bonding process. Based on our pervious studies on the dynamic behaviour of the ultrasonic transducer system [ 14,151, a suitable location on the transducer has been selected for PZT sensor installation (see Fig. 3). To mount the sensor, the back electrode of the sensor was first grounded to the surface of the transducer using ELECOLIT 325 silver-based conductive adhesive (Fig. 2). A fine electrical wire was then bonded on the front electrode of the sensor using the conductive adhesive. The joint was plasticized using insulating varnish. The vibration displacement amplitude cl (in nm) of the transducer was measured using a high-frequency heterodyne interferometer (SH-120 from B.M. Industries, France) [ 19,201. Under the same driving condition, the sensor voltage output V (in mV) was obtained. The sensitivity S of the sensor was evaluated as

Computer

Ultrasonic Wire Bonder + Sensor Signal F=@=l

Signal

Processor
High Input Impedance Buffer Amplifiers 2nd Harmonic Filter monitor. 1

Fig. 3. The bond quality

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tion, pull test and shear test were performed. Results from our production line show that even though both the deformed bond width and pull force are essentially constant (small standard deviations), the actual welded area under each bond and hence the shear force may still vary. These results are consistent with those previously reported [ 5,13,21-243. The pull test is particularly sensitive to the weakening of the bond heel; it is not sensitive to the total weld area unless the weld area is so small that the bond lifts off during the test or during bonding. The shear test, on the other hand, is completely independent of the condition of the heel; it is sensitive only to the actual amount of welded area and is more suitable for measuring the level of bondability. Therefore, destructive shear test was employed to test the bond quality. A coefficient of variation below 20% in shear force is typically achievable for the shear test regardless of the mean value of the bond shear force distribution. A good bond is defined as one that has high shear force with large residue after shear, provided that the bond can withstand a high pull force and has optimal bond width with small standard deviations.

7. Bond quality monitoring

and evaluations

Fig. 4 shows sensor signatures of a typical good bond (shear force = 37 gf, where 1 gf = 9.8 mN). Only a small

amplitude change and frequency shift are observed for the fundamental frequency (62.5 kHz) , but a very characteristic amplitude change and frequency shift for the second harmonic ( 125 kHz) . There is arise time of several milliseconds (about 4 ms) when the amplitude of the second harmonic increases to the peak value VP and then shows a rapid drop in amplitude (about 4 ms) before reaching a long low steadystate amplitude Vs. Also, the frequency shifts in such a way that it increases as the amplitude decreases or vice versa. Large residual bond metallization is retained on the bonding pad, which remains intact as can be seen in the footprint after shear (Fig. 5). Weakly adhered bonds have a fundamental signature (62.5 kHz) more or less similar to that of good bonds, but the degree of amplitude change and frequency shift in the second harmonic are different and vary with the degree of weakness. The signatures of a weaker bond (shear force = 26 gf) are shown in Fig. 6; the second harmonic also has an initial period of high amplitude VP (about 4 ms)) but the amplitude tends to decrease rather slowly and the steady-state amplitude V, is rather high. The frequency also increases as the amplitude decreases. From the corresponding footprint (Fig. 7)) it can be seen that both the residue and the actual amount of welded area are smaller. Unwelded portions due to the formation of voids are observed. When the wire bonding is attempted without wire, the associated signatures (Fig. 8) are substantially different from those obtained with adhered bonds (Figs. 4 and 6). However, changes are still more significant for the second harmonic. The gradual increase in amplitude may be due to the subsequent removal of bond pad material by the wedge that can be seen clearly from the corresponding SEM micrograph (Fig. 9). This type of bond is the worst type and is therefore the most undesirable because the device is liable to be damaged. To illustrate how sensitive the change in the second harmonic is, Fig. 10 shows the signatures of a poor bond due to inadequate calibration of the bonder. It can be treated as an

-200 0

""""""""'1 5 10 15

8 " 20

"I' 25

* - " 30

10 Bonding

15 Time (ms)

20

25

30

Fig. 3. Sensor signatures 62.5 I&z; (b) 125 kHz.

of a typical good bond (shear force = 37 gf): (a)

Fig. 5. The corresponding SEM micrograph of the sheared footprint for the good bond with signatures shown in Fig. 4. The bond has been sheared from left to right.

S.W. Or et al. /Sensors

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200 (a) 150 ,,,. 1., , .I I,, I I I,, I

73

100 50 0 -50 -100 -1% F E. 8 2 8

100 50 0 -50 -100 -150

s .k tk s p

150

100

7 .E.

50

8 B B

0 -50 -100 -150

aoo~,t~~~ 0 5 IO
Bonding

15 Time (ms)

20

25

30

-2OOF,"""""""""""'I"'~~ 0 5

IO

15

20

25

30

Bonding Time (ms) Fig. 8. Sensor signatures kHz: (b) 125 Hz. of a typical bond attempted without wire: (a) 62.5

Fig. 6. Sensor signatures kHz; (b) 125 kHz.

of a weaker

bond (shear force = 26 gf): (a) 62.5

Fig. 7. The corresponding SEM micrograph of the sheared footprint for the bond with signatures shown in Fig. 6. The bond has been sheared from left to right and the tool mark ( left-hand upper corner) can also be observed.

Fig. 9. The corresponding shown in Fig. 8.

SEM micrograph

for the bond with signatures

exceptional case of the adhered bond. Low-frequency tool bounce (about 250 Hz) can be observed clearly in the second harmonic during bonding, but not in the fundamental frequency. For in-process monitoring purposes. it is more convenient to make use of amplitude information as opposed to frequency information. Based on modem data-acquisition techniques, the envelope of the second-harmonic signature can

be easily extracted and stored in the computer for further processing. Therefore, it is not difficult to interpret the signatures between the adhered, non-wired and tool-bounced bonds. In order to identify further the quality of the adhered bond, 300 adhered bonds formed under the same bonding conditions were investigated. The ratio of the steady-state amplitude to the peak value ( V,lV,) of the second harmonic was related to the bond shear force (Fig. 11) Results show that

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Bond Shear

Force

(gf)

Fig. 11. Ratio of the steady-state amplitude to the peak value (V,/V,) the second harmonic against bond shear force. Solid dots represent experimental data points, whereas the solid line is the fitted line.

of the

" 0

" 5

"

"

1 " 10

4 "

15

"

" (ms)

I 20

1 * "

25

n t

30

Bonding

Time

Fig. 10. Sensor signatures of a poor bond due to inadequate calibration of the bonder: (a) tool bounce is not evident in the 62.5 l&z signal; (b) tool bounce is clearly seen in the 125 ldlz signal.

ultrasonic signal. Drift of the bonding process towards unacceptable bond quality can be avoided. Testing of the reliability of these signatures and their relation to bond quality in a real production environment is in progress. The second-harmonic data produced by the sensor output can be used to replace statistical process control and to minimize destructive tests. We believe that the most promising avenue for future development leading to an in-process quality control/monitoring technique for ultrasonic wire bonding lies in a multiparameter approach based on modem data-acquisition techniques. The findings in this work will be used to develop a multiparameter-based real-time automatic process-control system.

all data points follow a trend shown as a straight line. The lower the amplitude ratio, the stronger the bond is. The strongest bonds are the ones having an initial period of high amplitude followed by a long low steady-state amplitude period. Hence, there exists a maximum ratio for the production of a bond of acceptable quality. Results of this experiment are consistent with the model of the bonding mechanism described in Section 1 in that the initial high-amplitude period promotes maximum surface disruption and area of contact, whilst the subsequent lower steady-state amplitude period permits consolidation of bond strength. It is postulated that when the amplitude ratio is smaller, more energy is used up in the bond formation, which results in a stronger bond. The error bar in bond shear force is about i5 gf, whereas that in amplitude ratio is about + 0.1. The error can be minimized as the technique is further developed.

Acknowledgements
Financial support from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Teaching Company Scheme (TCS) is acknowledged. The authors would like to thank Professor Lei Deiming for supplying PZT piezoelectric ceramic and the Quality Control Department of ASM Assembly Automation Ltd. for theirhelp in bond quality testing.

References
[ 11 B. Langenecker, Effects of ultrasound on deformation characteristics of metals. IEEE Trans. Sonics Ultrasonics, SU-13 ( 1996) 1-8. [2] G.G. Harman and J. Albers, The ultrasonic welding mechanism as applied to aluminum and gold wire bonding in microelectronics, IEEE Trans. Hybrids Packaging, PHP-13 ( 1977) 406-412. [3] KC. Joshi, The formation of ultrasonic bonds between metals, Welding J., 50 (1977) 840-848. [4] J.L. Harthoorn, Ultrasonic metal welding, Ph.D. Thesis, Technical Hogeschool, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 1978. [5] R. Rodwell and D.A. Worrall, Quality control in ultrasonic wire bonding, Hybrid Circuits, No. 7 (May) ( 1985) 67-72. [6] E.G. Konovalov and VS. Gaikov, Acoustic emission recording as a mean of investigating solid-state welding process, Welding Production, 9 ( 1972) 82-85.

8. Conclusions
Changes in the mechanical impedance of the bond zone during bond formation generally cause changes in the ultrasonic vibrations of the ultrasonic transducer system. By attaching a PZT sensor on the transducer, the bond quality can be monitored by observing the second harmonic of the

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[7] J.B. Jones, Sonobond Corporation, Vibratory welding process and apparatus, US Patent No. 3 056 192 (Oct. 1962). [S] J.H. Cusick, United States Navy, Ultrasonic bond monitor, US Patent No. 3 890 831 (June 1975). [9] J.L. Landes, Texas Instruments Inc., Ultrasonic bond energy monitor, US Patent No. 4 341 574 (July 1982). [IO] M. McBrearty, M. Negin, A. Zielenski and M. Weilerstein, Real time non-destructive evaluation in ultrasonic wire bonding, Proc. IEEE Ultrasonics Symp., Atlanta, GA, USA, Nov. 1983, Vol. 2, pp. 861865. [ 111 M.J. Hight, R.V. Winkle and J.R. Dale, Mullard Ltd., Improvements in and relating to ultrasonic bonding apparatus, British Patent No. 1506 164 (Apr. 1978). [ 121 H. Tsukahara, M. Nakashima and T. Sugawara, Automated visual inspection system for bonded IC wires. Microelectronics J., 24 ( 1993) 625-633. [ 131 R. Pufall, Automatic process control of wire bonding, Proc. 43rd Electronic Components Technol. Conf., Orlando. FL, USA, June 1993, pp. 159-162. [ 141 S.W. Or, H.L.W. Chan, V.C. Lo and C.W. Yuen, Sensors for automatic process control of wire bonding, to appear in Proc. 10th IEEE Int. Symp. Applications of Ferroelectrics (ISAF), East Brunswick, NJ, USA, Aug. 1996, Vol. 2, pp, 991-994. [ 151 S.W. Or, H.L.W. Ghan, V.C. Lo and C.W. Yuen, Dynamics of an ultrasonic transducer used for wire bonding, submitted to IEEETrans. Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics Freq. Control. [ 161 IEEE Standard on Piezoelectricity, IEEE Std. 176, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 1978. [ 171 IRE Standards on Piezoelectric Crystals: Measurements of Piezoelectric Ceramics, Proc. IRE. 49 ( 1961) 1161-l 169. [ 181 Five Modem Piezoelectric Ceramics, Vemitron Ltd., UK, 1988. [ 191 D. Royerand V. Kmetik, Measurement of piezoelectric constants using an optical heterodyne interferometer, Electron, Lett., 28 (1992) 18281830. [20] D. Royer and E. Dieuleaaint, Optical probing of the mechanical impulse response of a transducer, Appl. Phys. Lett.. 49 ( 1986) 10561058. [21] C. Alfaro, Semiconductor assembly variables - their impact in the interconnection process, Verity Instruments Inc., TX. USA, 1993. [ 221 G.G. Harman. The microelectronic ball-bond shear test - a critical review and comprehensive guide to its use. Int. J. Hybrid Microelectron., 6 ( 1983) 127-141. [ 231 Standard Test Methods for Measuring Pull Strength of Microelectronic Wire Bonds, ASTM Std. F 459-84, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol. 10.04. [ 241 Test Methods for Destructive Shear Testing of Ball Bonds, ASTM Std. F 1269-89, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol. 10.04.

Kong Polytechnic University in 1992 and 1995, respectively. Since 1995, he has been a teaching company associate at both the Department of Applied Physics, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and ASM Assembly Automation Ltd., Hong Kong, responsible for a teaching company scheme research project on an ultrasonic wire bonder, through which he has also registered for an M.Phil. degree with the university. Mr Or is a graduate member of the Institute of Physics, UK, and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., USA. H.L. W. Chnn was born in 1948. She received the BSc. and M.Phil. degrees in physics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1970 and 1974, respectively and the Ph.D degree in applied physics from Macquarie University, Australia, in 1987. From 1987 to 1991, she worked as a research scientist at CSIRO Division of Applied Physics in Sydney, responsible for setting up the standards for medical ultrasound in Australia. She then worked at GEC-Marconi Pty. Australia for a year as a senior acoustic designer before she returned to Hong Kong in 1992. Dr Chan is currently a professor in the Department of Applied Physics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. V.C. Lo was born in 1956. He received the B.Sc.(Hons.) and M.Phil. degrees in physics and the Ph.D degree in electronic engineering from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1979, 1982 and 1991, respectively. In 1982, he became an assistant lecturer in the Department of Applied Science at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and was promoted to a lecturer in the Department of Applied Physics in 1984. Since 1992, he has been an assistant professor. His research interests include the experimental investigation and theoretical modelling of semiconductor materials and devices, Dr Lo is a member of the Hong Kong Physical Society, the American Physical Society, USA, the Materials Research Society, USA, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., USA. C. W. Yuen was bomin 1965. Hereceived theB.Sc.( Hons.) degree in electronic engineering from the City University of Hong Kong in 1989 and joined ASM Assembly Automation Ltd., Hong Kong, in the same year. Mr Yuen is currently a principal engineer at ASM, responsible for the development of electronic circuits and systems for industrial automation applications.

Biographies
S. W. Or was born in 197 1. He received the Higher Diploma in marine communication and electronic technology and the B.Sc.(Hons.) degree in engineering physics from the Hong