The bond pads will have scratches caused by circuit testing, These scratches are normal and are not cause for rejection. After mounting and bonding, parts should be inspected to ensure good epoxy fillets around the edge of the die. Large voids in the epoxy should be deterred, as well as, die that do not sit reasonably flat in the package. Wire bond sites should be inspected for short circuits and damage to traces or air bridges. Bond heels should also be inspected for proper deformation.
All semiconductor devices are sensitive to electrostatic discharge.
Often static induced failures are latent in nature, and sometimes the only indication of damage is just poor yields. Therefore, it is prudent to assume that all integrated circuits, including GaAs integrated circuits, require static controlled work stations. Operators should wear dissipative wrist straps and work over dissipative table mats. Finished work should be kept in dissipative packaging. It is worth repeating that static failures are often not obvious.