The non-contact nature of the process is ideally suited to thinsheet materials, small diameter wire, and electronic packaging. The infrared wavelengths are also quite useful in plastics processing, especially hole drilling of thin sheet materials. Numerous clients have used EWI to assess laser welding for specific applications, including automotive electrical components, pressure sensitive bellows, and joining small diameter wires for medical devices. Often, EWI performs referee evaluations, where laser processing is compared to resistance welding and plasma arc welding processes. Wire Bonding EWI has the equipment and capability to perform ultrasonic and thermosonic wire bonding using gold and aluminum wires.
Ultrasonic energy is applied parallel to the joint interface and a solid-state weld is formed.
This is the common interconnect technique for silicon and gallium arsenide integrated circuit devices. Each system is manually operated and has flexible fixturing to accommodate a variety of part configurations. The wirebonding process is very mature with strong support from industry OEMs. The process allows a designer to compress an electrical circuit design and often can result in improved performance due to elimination of extra circuit elements. EWI has performed a variety of research on the microstructure of thermosonic bonds and the effects of process parameters on shear strength and wire breaking strength.