Ensuring Suitability of Cu Wire Bonded ICs for Automotive Applications

Abstract

The transition to replace gold with copper bond wires in semiconductor components, primarily driven by the ever increasing price of gold wire, has been under way for several years. Cu wire bonds (Cu-WBs) are technically more challenging than gold to produce, requiring improved designs, processes and equipment. After introduction in consumer products, their use is now migrating to automotive electronics where product integrity for quality, reliability and durability (QRD) and safety over 10–15 years in a demanding harsh environment is paramount, in addition to managing cost in the highly competitive global automotive market. Reliability issues with some Cu wire bonded components detected during the rigorous product validation durability–reliability tests of automotive electronics, however, are starting to appear. The indications are that only optimized package design with well-controlled assembly processes are suitable for high reliability (hi-rel) harsh environment applications such as automotive, military and aerospace. A concern is that non-optimized Cu-WBs and package materials issues are being detected in module-level durability validation tests in parts that were qualified as automotive grade per AEC Q-100 or AEC-Q101. This article will explore the issues and discuss potential solutions as the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) – the organization that defines requirements for automotive grade electronic components – works to update qualification procedures for evolving Cu-wire bond technology.