Exploration of Interfacial Materials Chemistry Control to Improve Cu Wire Bonding Reliability

Abstract

Copper wire bonding, with its advantages of higher electrical conductivity and better mechanical strength, has replaced gold wire bonding as a proven cost-effective electrical interconnection solution for IC packaging for the past 15 years. Early development of Cu wire bonding required overcoming of several technical challenges including bond pad damage caused by copper’s hardness and brittleness relative to gold. A more chemistry related challenge of using Cu as bonding wire is its well-known reactivity with oxygen. Inert atmospheric envelope of forming gas surrounding bonding capillary was developed to prevent oxidation of Cu wire during electronic flame off to enable a strong bonding. Another more elusive materials-chemistry related reliability challenge, with a typical low ppm occurrence, has been the chloride-induced corrosion defects between the Cu wire and Al bond pad. The opportunistic low-level chloride contaminations can originate from various points of packaging manufacturing process flow and often render it un-trackable. In this talk, we present recent efforts to systematically control interfacial materials chemistry across Cu bonding wire, Cu/Al bimetallic contacts and CuxAly intermetallic compounds with the aim to eliminate corrosion defects and improve the overall bonding reliability. The current prevailing manufacturing solution is to utilize Pd-coated Cu bonding wire that can only partially mitigate the CuxAly intermetallic corrosion vulnerability. We utilized a real-time corrosion screening metrology to explore the underlying interfacial materials chemistry drives vigorous corrosion between Cu wire and Al bond pad when exposed to trace level of chloride contaminant. Combining with SEM, sensitive infrared spectroscopy and electrochemical characterization, our data show strategic surface modification on both Cu bonding wire and exposed CuxAly intermetallic can have a significant impact on reducing corrosion defect rates. The obtained mechanistic insights provide several new strategies enabled by a novel Cu-selective passivation coating technology to effectively mitigate Cu wire bonding corrosion defects. Implications on further improving overall Cu wire bonding reliability will be present based on these new approaches that have low-cost and packaging friendly advantages.