Patent ID: 7628307

Claim:
An apparatus for wire bonding comprising: a bonding tool comprising a horn and a capillary attached to the horn; and an apparatus for supplying a shielding gas during wire bonding, the apparatus for supplying shielding gas comprising: a main body; an elongated slot that extends into the main body from a side of the main body in a first direction and having a width, the slot also extending from a top surface to a bottom surface of the main body, in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction, from the side of the main body at one end of the width of the slot to the other end of the width of the slot, the slot also having a wall extending from the top surface to the bottom surface of the main body, the slot being sized to receive a tip of the capillary which is operable to pass through the slot in the second direction; and a gas outlet operative to supply shielding gas into the slot.