Application Note AN 992: Beam Lead Attachment Methods
Application Note AN 992: Beam Lead Attachment Methods
Application Note AN 992: Beam Lead Attachment Methods
3 x 4 MILS
2
CONDUCTOR
COATED WITH
LOW TEMPERATURE
MATERIAL SUCH
AS TIN
10 x 10 MILS
Figure 3. Typical setup for reflow of low temperature materials to attach beam lead devices.
BEAM LEAD
HEATED DEVICE
BONDING
TOOL CONDUCTOR
SUBSTRATE
CHUCK
SECTION A-A
3
5892-04 1612 AN 992
• Epoxy Attach:
SOFT TIP
It is possible to use epoxy to attach beam leads to VACUUM
TOOL
soft or hard substrates. With the very pure materials
DISPENSE
available good results can be achieved. Equipment is NEEDLE PRESSURE
available to dispense very small dots of epoxy and then EPOXY
ACTUATOR
pick and place the beam lead onto the epoxy. At least DOTS
two manufacturers make manual equipment (West
Bond and Laurier) and one (Advanced Semiconductor
Materials Corporation) makes a machine which
automatically performs the entire operation. These
setups are shown in Figures 5 and 6, respectively.
Solder paste can also be used in place of the epoxy.
By using a good quality low temperature solder (180
degrees C), it can be used on most substrates.
EPOXY DOT
EPOXY DOT
(b) Picking and Placing the Beam Lead Device onto the Epozy
5892-05B 1612 AN 992
Figure 5. Setup for epoxy attach of beam lead devices.
4
• Resistance Welding: a) Parallel Gap
Resistance welding is a very effective beam lead A parallel gap welding system is shown in Figure 7.
bonding method which can be used with nearly any In this case, the electrodes are bonded together with
substrate material and most conductors. Constant an insulator between the electrodes. The current is
voltage power supplies are available which reduce then passed from one electrode to the other through
the possibility of damage to the semiconductor by the part to be welded, in this case the beam. The
overvoltage. Weld heads are available which can energy required to fuse the bottom conductor must
apply the very light pressure needed with good be generated at this interface. The spacing between
repeatability. If work is being done with a variety of the electrodes is critical to achieving success in this
substrate materials, conductors, and finishes, this process. Because of the beam size and the problem of
method is the most versatile and predictable. aligning these electrodes to the beam, this method is
There are a number of ways of using pulsed power to not recommended if many parts are to be bonded.
create fused bonds. All of these methods are useful, b) Step Gap
but when working with parts as small as a beam lead The electrodes for the step gap method are much
device, one should be careful about the method used. the same as above, but are free to move vertically
These methods and the difficulties encountered are independent of each other. This allows one electrode
described next. to contact a beam and the other to contact the
conductor. The problems with this method are the
same as the parallel gap, but, in addition, the pressure
is difficult to apply at the right contact point without
having too much on the beam. The weld electrodes
require continual maintenance to provide a consistent
contact surface area.
INSULATOR
CONDUCTOR
5
c) Series Welding
This method shown in Figure 8 uses a single electrode
to make contact to the beam and the power supply
return makes contact to the conductor by means of
a cover plate or probe which has been fixtured to
provide a low resistance path close to the point of the
weld. The weld current is passed through the beam to
the conductor to the power supply return electrode.
The concentration of the current at the interface
between the beam and the conductor causes the
materials to fuse.
WELDING
SUPPLY
WELDING
ELECTRODE
BEAM LEAD DEVICE
CONDUCTOR
SOFT P.C.
MATERIAL
6
Summary
Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of the various
beam lead attachment methods. The major advantag-
es, disadvantages, and associated cost are included. It
should be noted that either the thermocompression or
the resistance weld equipment can be adapted for the
reflow method. The wobble bonder is basically a ther-
mo-compression bonder. Besides cost effectiveness and
other considerations such as automation flexibility, the
selection of the method is primarily determined by the
type of substrate used for the circuit.
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5091-9074EN - July 19, 2010