Coatings for ceramic bonding capillaries

A bonding apparatus for bonding lead wires to a semiconductor surface includes a supply spool that contains a supply of the bonding wire that is fed to a capillary that is made of a non-conductive material. An electric arc forms a ball on the tip of the arc and the ball is retracted into the capillary. The ball is heated and compressed onto the semiconductor substrate and is then stitched over to a second bonding point which in most applications is the interface pin of the semiconductor device. The capillary has a non-conductive end that prevents coating of the capillary tip with the molten metal that results from the arcing of the bonding wire.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to an apparatus and method of forming metallic balls 
for ball bonding of metallic wire to semiconductor devices. More 
particularly, this invention relates to capillaries used in the bonding 
operation. 
The basic ball bonding technique is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,641,660 issued 
to Adams et al on Feb. 15, 1972 and entitled "The Method of Ball Bonding 
With an Automatic Semiconductor Bonding Machine". Other improvements on 
the basic ball bonding apparatus were included in U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,238 
entitled "Apparatus and Method of Forming Aluminum Balls for Ball Bonding" 
and additional methods and apparatuses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 
4,327,860; 4,340,166; 3,973,713; and 3,863,827. 
Wire bonding of semiconductor devices is achieved through a thermal 
compression process utilizing a ceramic capillary through which the 
bonding wire is threaded. In the bonding process, a ball of molten metal 
is formed by an electric arc on the end of the bonding wire. The bonding 
wire is then bonded to the semiconductor surface. The arc discharge causes 
a metal splatter during the ball making process of the bonding operation 
which coats the end of the capillary tip through which the bonding wire is 
fed. This coating constitutes a discharge point for the electric arc. Some 
of the metal splatter penetrates the grain structure of the capillary and 
during subsequent arcing this penetrated metal splatter causes 
dislodgement of ceramic particles which results in erosion of the work 
surface of the capillary. This wearing of the metal surface reduces the 
life time of the capillary. An additional problem that results in the 
splattered metal that is coated on the capillary tip is that jagged edges 
are formed which abrade the lead wires that are being bonded to the 
semiconductor devices. The damaged lead wires then causes these devices to 
fail. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A bonding apparatus for bonding lead wires to a semiconductor surface 
includes a supply spool that contains a supply of the bonding wire that is 
fed to a capillary that is made of a non-conductive material. An electric 
arc forms a ball on the tip of the arc and the ball is retracted into the 
capillary. The ball is heated and compressed onto the semiconductor 
substrate and is then stitched over to a second bonding point which in 
most applications is the interface pin of the semiconductor device. The 
capillary has a non-conductive end that prevents coating of the capillary 
tip with the molten metal that results from the arcing of the bonding 
wire. 
The capillary is a tubular shaped device that has a center feed-through for 
passing the wire through and on one end there is a conical shaped member. 
The tubular shaped member is made of a first non-conductive material such 
as ceramic and the second member is made of a second non-conductive 
material. The second non-conductive material can be either a deposit of a 
metallic oxide such as aluminum or Si oxide on the ceramic material or a 
machined metal tip, whereas, the first non-conductive material can be 
either a sintered aluminum oxide ceramic or a heat resistive plastic. 
It is an object of the invention to provide a capillary for a wire bonding 
machine. 
It is another object of this invention to provide a bonding machine that 
includes a capillary which is resistant to the collection of metal 
splatter from the bonding operation. 
It is still another object of this invention to provide a capillary for a 
wire bonding machine that has an extended life of operation. 
It is still yet another object of the invention to provide a capillary for 
a bonding machine that prevents the bonding wire from being damaged by 
abrasion of the wire by metal splatter on the tip of the capillary. 
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a capillary for a 
bonding machine that allows for smooth passage of the bonding wire through 
the capillary tip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
In FIG. 1, there is shown a bonding apparatus 100 that includes a bonding 
machine 7 that feeds a bonding wire 3 through a capillary 1 for bonding 
the bonding wire 3 to a metallized surface 5 attached to a semiconductor 
substrate 15. The bonding machine 7 causes a ball to be formed on the 
metallized surface 5. In one embodiment, a coolant source 9 provides a 
flow of coolant through the conductors 11 and 13 to the bonding machine 7 
for cooling of the tip of the capillary 1. 
The operation of the bonding machine 7 may be more readily understood by 
referring to FIG. 2 which is a time sequence diagram as indicated by time 
line 2 showing the essential operation of the bonding machine 7. At 
reference A the capillary passes a feedthrough wire 3 through its center 
opening. A ball 4 of molten metal is formed on the end of the bonding wire 
3 at position B. The ball 4 of molten metal is retracted into the end of 
the capillary at positions C after which the capillary presses the ball 
formed of molten metal against the metallic surface 5 at position D. The 
capillary, as indicated at position E is then retracted exposing the 
bonding wire 3 and the ball 4 which is pressed against the metallic 
surface 5. The capillary is moved feeding the bonding wire to the metallic 
surface 5 and pressing it to a second metallic surface 25 at positions F 
and G. After the bonding wire 3 is connected to the second surface 25 it 
is cut and the process is repeated again at a second position on the 
semiconductor substrate 15 or on a different substrate. 
As was indicated earlier, the process of forming the ball by striking an 
arc to the tip of the bonding wire 3 causes metal splatter on the end of 
the capillary 1 which shortens the lifetime of the capillary and 
degradates the quality of the bonding connection of the bonding wire 3 due 
to the abrasive action of the splatter that is on a capillary 1. In the 
embodiment of FIG. 3 there is shown a top view of the capillary 1 in which 
there is deposited on the tip of the capillary a layer of a metal oxide 21 
is deposited on the tip 23 of the capillary 1. The deposition of the metal 
oxide is illustrated from a sectional view as seen from sectional lines 
IV, IV in FIG. 4 to which reference should now be made. 
The capillary 1 is made of a nonconductive material such as a ceramic 
material which is usually compressed and sintered aluminum oxide but which 
may be any type of nonconductive material that can withstand both the 
pressure and temperatures that are developed in the bonding operation of 
the bonding machine 7. The capillary has a cylinder portion 25 and a 
conical tip 27. There is a tubular clearance through the capillary 29 
through which the bonding wire 3 pass. To assist the transfer of the 
bonding wire through the capillary at the tubular clearance 29 the inner 
walls of the tubular clearance 29 are tapered as indicated by dimension 
lines 31. At the tip of the conical shaped portion 27 of the capillary 1, 
the walls of the clearance to 29 become parallel at position 33 which is 
indicated by dimension lines 35. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a 
second nonconductive material 21 is deposited on the tip of the capillary 
27 and in particular on the pressure bearing surface 37. Additionally, 
along the parallel surfaces 33 of the tip of the capillary, the second 
nonconductive material is also deposited as indicated at 41. Depositing of 
the second nonconductive material along the inner surface of the inner 
guide passage 29 of the capillary 1 provides a smooth passageway for the 
bonding wire 3. This coating is normally in the range of 2200.+-.300 
angstroms of aluminum oxide or silicon oxide. 
FIGS. 5 and 6 are alternate embodiments of the invention in which FIG. 5 is 
an end view of a capillary 1 in which there is a coating 39 over the 
entire tip 27 of the capillary. 
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of FIG. 5 as is seen from sectional line VI--VI 
in which a coating of approximately 2200 angstroms as indicated by 
dimension line 45 is applied to the top of the conical shaped section 27 
of the capillary 1. The coating is placed over the parallel ledges of the 
inner surface of the center passage 29 of the capillary member and are 
placed inside a length as indicated by dimension lines 35. The placement 
of the deposit 15 of the second nonconductive material on the inside 
portion of the center passage 29 facilitates the guiding of the bonding 
wire 3 through the capillary and provides a smoother surface for its 
passage than does the ceramic material that the capillary is manufactured 
from. 
FIGS. 7 and 8 are alternate embodiments of the capillary 1 of FIG. 3 in 
which cooling from the coolant source 9 is circulated through the 
capillary 1 via coolant conduits 11 and 13 and channel 55. The circulating 
of coolant through the capillary 1 facilitates in the removal of heat that 
results from the application of the electrical arc to the bonding wire 3 
and due to heat transferred from the heated substrate to the tip during 
ball bonding and thus enables the conical shape 27 of the capillary 1 to 
be manufactured of a high impact resistant plastic material 53 and it is 
bonded to the cylindrical portion 27 of the capillary 1 which may be a 
ceramic material or a material 51 such as teflon or other type of plastic 
medium. The use of plastic, of course, provides for easy passage of the 
bonding wire through 3 through the capillary 1 as does the taper 31 and 
the coating of the inner walls the depth of dimension line 35 with the 
second nonconductive materials. 
FIGS. 9 and 10 provide yet another embodiment of the invention in which a 
machined aluminum tip 61 is connected to the conical end 27 of the 
capillary 1 via means of threads 63 which includes a male threaded portion 
65 that is a part of the machine tip 61 and a female portion 67 that is 
machined to the end of the conical section of the capillary 1. In the 
embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10, the overall dimensions of the capillary 1 
are the same as those of the prior figures and the insulation is provided 
by the second material which is a tip that is manufactured from a material 
such as aluminum which oxidizes readily and thus provides an insulating 
layer over its outer surfaces of aluminum oxide. Any charge that may be 
accumulated on the tip 61 as was the other embodiment, of course, is 
removed by the action of the bonding wire while still maintaining the 
nonconductive character of the capillary 1.