Failure Analysis On Power MOSFETs With Copper Wire Bonds

Focus:

Copper wire bonds are being used increasingly in microelectronic components as a less expensive alternative to bonds made of gold. So far, the evidence indicates that copper is a viable alternative, but proving its reliability will require new failure analysis (FA) techniques that are specific to the copper wire-bonding process. In this article, the authors talk about new FA techniques and procedures that have been developed specifically for components using copper-wire technology. They explain why copper wires need to be treated differently from gold and use case studies from power MOSFET devices to show a step-by-step example of an FA process designed to preserve all the evidence needed to perform an effective analysis on failed devices.

What you’ll learn:

• How to decapsulate power MOSFETs and other semiconductor components containing copper wire bonds
• How to understand why traditional decapsulation methods don't work on power semiconductors with copper wire bonds

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Author & Publication:

Huixian Wu, Arthur Chiang, and David Le, Vishay Siliconix, Santa Clara, Calif., How2Power Today, Mar 30 2012

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