Posted by Rich Hueners on Fri, Jul 23, 2010 @ 03:49 PM
Semicon West 2010 was an important show for Palomar, most especially due to the launch of Palomar's new 3800 Ultra Flexible Die Bonder. The 3800 highlight features include 3.5 micron repeatability, 3 sigma and 2600 UPH. Palomar's booth saw lots of traffic, lots of interested eyes fascinated with the 3800's sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing design and mechanics.
Here are some highlighted reflections:
- Like most US trade shows, smaller, less equipment and less well-attended than a decade ago. Certainly a sign of the times: the impact of the internet and the dominance of Asia as a target market for semiconductor equipment
- Even so, the trade show remains a great forum for prospective buyers to directly see and compare competitive products and companies all in one location. There is still no substitute for going down to the lot and ‘kicking the tires’ when you’re in the market.
- Palomar was distinctive at Semicon 2010 as one of the very few companies that had a new product to show. And Palomar had done extensive pre-show promotion to generate excitement and curiosity surrounding the launch of its new product. You could feel it in the air.
- For Palomar, the combination of a new product launch and strengthening in the semiconductor capital equipment market made Semicon 2010 one of its best trade shows in years.
Laurie Roth, Market Research Consultant, used the words "upbeat" to describe this years show. She also talks about the new challenges contract manufacturers will face in the near future: in essence, the applications methods and solutions are there, it will just be a matter of which method to use. It was certainly upbeat, exhibitor attendance was higher than the last few years and certainly visitor traffic was way up.
Let me share with you 2 video interviews conducted on site at the Palomar booth, during the show.
First up, Laurie Roth, a semiconductor industry veteran:
Next up, Jim Hisert from Indium Corporation, talks about Palomar's new 3800 ultra flexible die bonder and its new ergonomic features. Jim also discusses how Palomar's 3800 large work area is a major benefit to customers with high mix/low-medium volume mircoelectronics manufacturers - the ability to customize across a wide variety of applications.
Posted by Rich Hueners on Fri, Jul 16, 2010 @ 02:53 PM
As a software engineer, I don’t often get to go to trade shows, but Semicon West 2010 was one I could not miss. After working intensely over the last few months with the Palomar engineering team on the 3800 Die Bonder and preparing to show it to the world at SEMICON…attending, if only for opening day, was something I needed to do for myself. Call it professional satisfaction. With that said, I want to share some of my experiences and impressions of Semicon 2010, Palomar's booth, and the showing of the new 3800 die bonding machine. The last time I went to Semicon was in the late 1990s when Palomar launched its CBT 6000 (which later became the current 8000 Wire Bonder).
Quick Bit
Semicon 2010 was held at Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco. There are three main exhibit halls, Moscone South, Moscone North, and Moscone South. Palomar's booth was in the North hall which was for the "Test, Assembly, and Packaging" segment of the semiconductor equipment manufacturing and supply industries. The South hall was for "Wafer Processing" and the West hall was for the Solar industry. I visited the South and North halls, but not the West hall.
Monday 7/12 – Set up
The exhibit halls were only open to the exhibitors and the various convention center support people such as electricians, general labor, security, etc. Like the few other conventions I have been to on setup day, it was an organized chaos. There were forklifts buzzing by with large crates, laborers putting down carpet, electricians setting up power drops and exhibitors semi-desperately trying to get all their stuff placed in their booth and working to some level.
Tuesday 7/13 – Opening Day
As 10 am rolled around, I went out to walk the floor and look at what the other vendors had going on.
Just before lunch, I walked by the Palomar booth and found it was jammed with people. Every Palomar person was talking with one or two visitors, and some as yet unengaged visitors in the walkway were watching the machine (still running its demo) or the process camera live the 46” video display. It looked crazy! Meanwhile the booths around Palomar's were dead in comparison. 
Palomar's booth on Tuesday, July 13th
I walked over to the South hall, where the "Wafer Processing" related things were going on. After walking the whole floor, it seemed that very few vendors had any kind of significant machinery on display. Not knowing really anything about wafer processing myself, most of the booths weren't of any real interest to me. There was one booth that had a demo of an air-bearing table seemingly made of granite with small metal rails - it had some kind of wafer handling arm on it and it was whisper quiet from what I could tell (although the hall was pretty noisy). Despite the South hall being bigger than the North hall, it seemed that there were less people total in the South hall - maybe less people interested in wafer processing?
On Tuesday, the exhibit floor closed at 5pm. But, if you are REALLY interested, you were able to hang out a bit longer. This was evident in what I soon saw back at the Palomar booth: one last gentleman was at the excitedly asking Mike Artimez, our on-site engineer, a bunch of questions. He seemed new to the Palomar product line, so he was totally focused on looking at the 3800 machine and not really paying attention to anything else. Far after 5 PM, he looked up and realized that almost all the other visitors and large portion of the exhibitors themselves had already left the floor. Surprised and still excited, he said his goodbyes and left, saying he'd be back tomorrow to talk some more.
Palomar's Design Engineer Mike Artimez shows an interested visitor the new 3800 Die Bonder
An Engineer’s Dream
Having spoken to many different people who have attended Semicon for years and decades on end, this year was certainly an “up” year. As for the show itself, overall, it was clearly a success. More than anything, I reached the height of “professional satisfaction” in watching a great number of engineers and industry professionals watch the new 3800 die bonder with intense interest and excitement. All the hard work that was put into the 3800 by so many people at Palomar paid off in simply watching the sparkle in the eye of each visitor when watching the machine run. As an engineer, to create a product that other people find useful and valuable is most definitely the ultimate payoff. I feel lucky to have been there.
Here is to growth and prosperity for all semiconductor companies worldwide!
-Raul Rathmann
Posted by Rich Hueners on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 @ 11:27 PM
July 13th - The DAY
We are now only days away from Semicon West 2010, which opens at 10 AM on Tuesday, July 13th at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. With the technology and manufacturing on the rebound, foot traffic is expected to better than in recent years. We here at Palomar are especially excited as our much anticipated, much talked-about, new product introduction which will be revealed at the show (demonstrations of this new product at the Palomar booth, North Hall #6064)!
Double-Digit Increases
Last year the words "quietly encouraging" were whispered around show, describing the state of the business. Those whispers have proved to be true. In March of this year, SEMICON West reported that "analysts predictions for a double digit increase in global semiconductor revenues, and year-over-year ca
pital spending growth in excess of 50%, accompany a major rebound for semiconductor equipment and materials market." This year's show will host new programs on the latest in semiconductor manufacturing, emerging markets such as LED, flexibile electronics and MEMS. It's fairly safe to say that these programs reflect broader industry trends.
InterSolar
Another exciting aspect of this year's SEMICON is its partnership with InterSolar, the world's leading solar energy technology event. With governments, consumers and businesses increased focus on alternative energy, InterSolar will be larger than last year in terms of exhibitors, visitors and conference program content.
Beyond the Present
In addition to Palomar's new product launch, Palomar experts will be on hand to discuss interested visitors' wire bonding, die attach and other high reliability, complex packaging challenges. Palomar Microelectronics, the contract assembly division of Palomar Technologies, provides Palomar a sort "look into the future" via its customers: in addition to high reliability military and medical system packaging production, we see n
ovel new technologies and get the opportunity to help kickstart prototyping, then aid in designing and ultimately bring to life, through production, the customers' product. Some of these new technologies include sophisticated ID protection in minature packages, new uses of HD LEDs, and MEMS devices that are used in such things as high-end commercial cleaning! Not everyone has an applications lab like Palomar, but every attendee at SEMICON West will get the chance to feel the beat of the industry and gain knowledge of upcoming trends. And of course, every attendee will have the opportunity to stop in at Palomar's booth (#6064) and pick the brain's of the experts present (Steve Buerki, Brad Benton, Mike Artimez...to name a few).
Energizing the Industry
We hope that SEMICON West exceeds even the most optimistic analyst expectations and thus energizes the semiconductor industry for a decade of groundbreaking innovation and growth. When the water level rises, all boats rise.
Posted by Rich Hueners on Mon, May 24, 2010 @ 06:03 PM
Continuing on with our overview of microelectronic interconnection methods, we will discuss today three additional methods: Solder Bump Bonding, Ball Bumping Materials, and Wire Bonding.
Solder Bump Bonding
Solder Bumps are the small spheres of solder (solder balls) that are bonded to contact areas or pads of semiconductor devices. Subsequently, they are use for face-down bonding. The length of the electical connections between the chip and substrate can be minimized by:
- placing solder bumps on the die
- flipping the die over
- aligning the solder bumps with contact pads on the substrate
- re-flowing the solder ball in a furnace to establish the bonding between the die and the substrate
Ball Bumping Materials
A few key points on ball bumping materials. The primary bump material still used is solder. Solder Bumps are fabricated by evaporation, plating and solder screening. Depending on your application, you may choose an alternative bump material. These include gold stud bump, conductive epoxy, copper balls or columns. For more on the Ball Bumping process and how it works, check out Wire Bonding - Gold Ball Bumping. If your interest in is an actual Ball Bumping machine, you can read about Palomar's 8000 Ball (Stud) Bumper which also can be configured as a wire bonder.
Wire Bonding
Most people know wire bonding, so I will just scratch the surface. The basics: Wire Bonding is a method used to connect a fine wire between an on-chip pad and a substrate pad. This subsrate may simply be the ceramic base of a package or another chip. Common wire bonding materials include gold and aluminum (Al is often used in wedge bonding). Highly specialized applications that are subject to government regulatory approval, such as implantable medical devices, may require using platinum wire for the wire bonding. For more about wire bonding, visit Palomar's more in-depth wire bonding webpages.
Here is a very simple rendering of how a wire bonded package looks:
Putting Interconnection Methods Together
Depending on your application and the goal of your end product, you will have different requirements. For example, you may need a smaller package. Or, you may need more power and reliability and in exchange will work with a larger package, for the package size doesn't matter. Today, many applications require a very small package with all of the power and reliability benefits of a larger package. Regardless of your need, Palomar engineers continually say "bring us your challenge". If you application is requires high power and high reliability, Palomar is the best in the business.
IC with Wire Bonds Same IC with Bump Connections
Taking these two bonding methods and putting them together is a very common application. The below picture is ~10% BALL CONNECTIONS and ~90% Wire Bond connections.
Posted by Rich Hueners on Mon, May 10, 2010 @ 06:01 PM
Quick note: "Other" in the suject is referring to wire bonding and die attach, and the sub-sets that come with them, ie epoxy, eutectic, bumping, chain, etc.
Picking the Interconnect Method
Every device manufactuter is looking for a more effective and low cost way to assemble their packages. Differences in package complexity, unique requirements to achieve needed precision and accuracy, and desired product volume will determine which interconnect method is most appropriate.
...easier said than done.
Palomar's contract assembly division, Microelectronics, encounters the challenge of "determining the interconnect method" everyday. Taking it a step further, they then execute the interconncect method.
Executing the Interconnect Method
Applications requiring very high precision often need Eutectic bonding - this is because of the "eutectic" method's extraodinary precision and accuracy. If the application requires it, the Microelectronics team does flux-less eutectic attach, creating an even cleaner, more reliable bond (you'd be hard pressed to find another company do flux-less as well as Palomar; a good resource is this paper on eutectic die attach) . 
The applicaiton may require a multiple number of bonding methods to assemble the package. For example, a firm manufacturing microelectronic devices for active optical cables requires several different bonding machines and methods for their process. The process (not in this order) is accomplished by a pick and place bonder using a wafer stage with several thousand sites, an ultra high accuracy die bonder with a Pulse Heat System for making the repeatible eutectic bond (see more on PHS), and finally a versatile wire bonder, performing a low loop interconnection. 
The end product is a highly reliable, complex package that works over long periods of time and in a variety of harsh environments. Each of the bonders are automated, enabling these application processes to happen simutanously with little operator intervention. Meanwhile, engineers and technicians are working on other applications (in the same lab space), and still keeping the process flow moving. Cost goes down, productivity goes up and the end package is impressive, to say the least.
TAB Bonding
Something not mentioned here is TAB Bonding. We don't hear much about it anymore. For this reason I want to discuss it for a moment, in case anyone is in need of some TAB information. TAB stands for "Tape-Automated Bonding". This is an approach to fine the pitch interconnection of a chip to a leadframe. These interconnections are patterned on a multi-layer polymer tape - the tape is positioned above the "bare die". Ths is so that the metal tracks (on the polymer tape) correspond to the bonding sites on the die.
Posted by Rich Hueners on Fri, Apr 23, 2010 @ 01:57 PM
This is Part 3 of our series on Manufacturing in North America. The following case study is an excellent example of North America's low cost manufacturing status played out in an actual business setting.
Case Study #1 - Who is the Lowest Cost?
In 2007, a U.S. hybrid microelectronic packaging firm lost its Asian high volume assembly partner. The timing was terrible for the U.S. manufacturing firm: they were in the middle of work with a customer building a complex LED module and was ready to transition out of the prototype phase and into the high volume production phase. The U.S. firm was running against time to find a new partner and a new source to do the high volume production for these highly unique and complex LED modules. The firm's U.S. management took a pause to look at what assets existed - what was in house to make this work? How could they solve this problem without fumbling around and wasting time? For one, the U.S. firm was a 35 year steady supplier of premier ultra high accuracy automated microelectronic assembly systems. With this, they had relationships in place to quickly identify prospective high volume suppliers. In order to find the right supplier from the list generated, they defined a generic microelectronic assembly: 35mm x 30mm assembly with 30 LEDs that required <13 micron accuracy, several discrete and passive components, 73 32 micron Au (Gold) wires and encapsulation.
Prospective suppliers where looked at in Asia and North America. Following the first down select based on a questionnaire, the U.S. manufacturing firm asked the remaining suppliers to quote the assembly cost (of the above stated generic microelectronic assembly) for quantities of 5000, 10000, and 20000 per month. The U.S. firm saw a paradigm shift in the world of on-shore vs. off-shore high-tech complex manufacturing with the surprising results:
1) Mexico (Tijuana) was the lowest cost
2) China (Guangdong) was a close second to lowest cost
Below is the graph generated from the study, showing the end results.
To put these results in context, the data showed that if there is a high degree of automation in the process, labor costs became less important (more automation, fewer operators, less need for labor). It's important to note that automation is the cornerstone in most complex automation because it is the ONLY way to ensure a repeatable, consistent, measurable process. When a part becomes more complicated, the time factor to produce it expands, therefore labor costs increase. Not so with automation. With automation, processes can be done simultaneously and rapidly with little operator intervention and less operator task time.
Defining Complex
The word "complex" describes both the type of package or assembled product as well as the procedures and processes involved in designing and manufacturing the product. With automation making labor it a much less significant factor, the full cost of bringing a complex product from design to market-ready, take center stage. There are many steps between design and market-ready; each step must be accomplished on schedule without sacrificing quality. Delays during any part of the process can prove very costly. Each complex module carries an expensive price tag. Better said, the stakes are higher when dealing with complex modules. So, with the failure of a complex module the cost is greatly magnified. Moral of the story: if you are contracting work out on complex modules, find the manufacturing/assembly firm that has the highest success rate of working parts over the long run.
Why Mexico is Important
The U.S. firm discussed in the above case study is located in San Diego county. Tijuana is approximately a 45 minute drive from their U.S. headquarters. This is a significant aspect in regards to cost, efficiency, time to market, and product quality: the U.S. firm's engineers and management are geographically close the the high volume production site and have hassle free access to crossing the border. The cost of flying around the world to do common tasks are completely eliminated. These tasks include fixing a minor problem, getting a machine back up and running and/or making a small change in the application process.
If you are considering a change of local in your contract manufacturing, consider sense to manufacture in North America today.
Posted by Rich Hueners on Thu, Jan 21, 2010 @ 06:54 PM
Taking from our last post, we determined that the playing field of contract assembly in complex microelectronics, in regards to cost has been leveled. A primary reason for this "leveling" has been that U.S. manufacturers have proven able to realize the advantages of Designing, Developing a Prototype, Creating a Process, and Manufacturing a Complex Product on-shore and doing it at High-Volume in a cost-effective manner.
What are North America's Advantages?
Let's unpack what some of the advantages of doing contract assembly for mircoelectronic and optoelectronic products on-shore (North America) are:
1) High skill set available for microelectronics design, prototyping, and packaging
2) Intellectual Property (IP) protection
3) Time shortened between prototype and high volume production - freeing up valuable engineering sources sooner and resulting in a quicker time-to-market
4) Allows Managers and Sr. Engineering staff to react to changes or problems much more effectively
5) With the above-stated advantages, the contract assembly firm's ability to perform consistent complex applications and processes is strengthened
7) Close to many end users - again reducing time-to-market and enabling greater flexibility to make quick changes if needed to match market needs
Automation in Microelectronic Manufacturing
Time is money; automation cuts time down dramatically; automation is more cost-effective. When automating a complex process, setting up the process correctly the first time becomes imperative aspect in determining whether or not you will reach your time-to-market goals. A glaring benefit of automation is that an operator or technician can run a complex process (an operator or technician is cheaper than an engineer, obviously). But as with anything in life or business, things can go wrong, even in automation and even with a picture-perfect set up process by a skilled engineer. Having that skilled engineer/expert close by guarantees that any down time will be short; the operator is back to work quickly running the automated production.
below: operator on an automated die attach machine in the Palomar Microelectronics lab
Automation also is often the ONLY way complex packaging can be performed. For example, Multi-Chip Modules (MCMs) in excess of 20 components per part and 100 wires per module are typically automated. Operators can usually handle die sizes larger that 1mm, while automated equipment can handle die sizes below 250 microns. Automated wire bonders can usually attach more than 5 wires per second whereas manual bonders typically process one interconnect every 5 seconds. Even so, for most complex microelectronics, manual adhesive dispense is not an option.
The Lab Considerations
In the Palomar Microelectronic's Contract Assembly lab, the following considerations are taken into account to keep the process rolling along rapidly and accurately:
• Equipment/material certifications performed daily
• Packages or Substrates presented in boats or trays that hold lots of parts
• Piece part presented in ways that reduce work stoppage and yield loss
• Good communication between the process owner and the operator
• Process documentation that is easily accessible
High Accuracy Packaging - Where the Time Goes...
In performing high accuracy packaging, there is often more time spent on engineering: developing processes and defining daily equipment certification requirements and part presentation methods. Looking back to our automation discussion, the time spent on engineering is vital to ensuring as little intervention as possible, by the engineers, once the production begins. The engineers spend much time creating a process that can be supported with little intervention. Our operator and technician can then run production on several machines at the same time. This is high point of efficiency in complex micro-optoelectronic packaging.
Next week
Our next entry will look at a Case Study: an U.S. hybrid microelectronic packaging firm lost its Asian high volume assembly partner, and had to search for a new high volume partner. The search ended in pleasant surprise - a location that was in extraordinarily close proximity to the U.S. firm.
- Don Beck, General Manager, Palomar Microelectronics
Posted by Rich Hueners on Tue, Jan 05, 2010 @ 02:38 PM
This is the first of a multi-part blog series about North America having become a true competitor in the world of complex microelectronic contract assembly (including wire bonding and die bonding), from prototype to full production. With the declining dollar, a sophisticated high-tech infrastructure and a deep engineering talent pool, North America is poised to become a destination for micro-optoelectronic supply chains everywhere.
Competing with Off-Shore Manufacturers
Quite the contrary to what one may imagine at first thought, the U.S. microelectronic manufacturer is now more competitive with their off-shore counterparts. In fact, it could be said that the "playing field has been leveled" in this respect. Countries that were once emerging economies 10 and 20 years ago are now developed countries with governments vying for a legitimate place on the world stage. These countries that were once the "inexpensive off-shore" manufacturers are now industrialized societies with all the codes and regulations that come with any developed nation. The good news is that this translates into better working conditions for its people and for the environment as a whole. But it is a double-edged sword - the same compromises that every developed country has had to face: rules and regulations bring with it increased cost, even more so in the case of complex microelectronic assembly.
above: Palomar Microelectronics Contract Assembly lab, located in Carlsbad, California
A Brief History of Microelectronic Manufacturing
In the last 20 years it was fairly common practice for U.S./North American microelectronic manufacturers to design and manufacture their complex modules through prototype at their facilities in North America, and then launch the product in high volume at an off-shore location. This was done primarily because the risk/reward was too great to prototype a complex package off-shore, far from the design and manufacturing engineers in North America. Management at the North American firms were willing to incur additional costs to get it right the first or second time. Simply stated, there was an almost absent level of comfort in prototyping off-shore. Once the prototyping was completed, the manufacturer would launch the production in full-tilt at a dramatically less expensive (in comparison to the prototyping cost) price tag off-shore.
Who Wins?
However, this practice has changed as recently as 24 months ago. The off-shore advantage of cost has all but disappeared for the reasons stated above. The playing field in now leveled. We are truly in a global economy for microelectronic manufacturing. At the end of the day, customers around the world, especially in the pricier European countries, will win.
Next week we will be discussing microelectronic manufacturing advantages that North America possess, keeping in mind that cost is competitive with its off-shore counterparts.
- Don Beck, General Manager, Palomar Microelectronics
Posted by Rich Hueners on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 @ 05:37 PM
IMAPS 2009 in San Jose was, as expected, slow due to current economic conditions. It was evident that reduced travel budgets and last minute exhibitor cancellations left several booths empty, amplifying the lack of normal show noise in exhibit hall! However, the old saying rings true in this context: "when times are bad, traffic is slow...but the important people always show up".
Quality over Quantity
With the above-stated aside, IMAPS 2009 was no different from any other year. At the Palomar Technologies booth, we experienced slower than usual foot traffic but exceptionally high quality prospects. One could argue that this year IMAPS show was better than most because the decision makers came out. The desired result of any trade show exhibitor, if given the choice, is quality over quantity. Its probably safe to say that the exhibitors who showed up could say the same about their traffic.
Scientific Papers and Presentations
A highlight of the show were the technological papers given. Palomar's Sr. Scientist Daniel D. Evans Jr. presented a paper titled "Micron Level Placement Accuracy for Wafer Scale Packaging of P-Side Down Lasers in Optoelectronic Products" (I will have the paper posted on this link next week; or for an advanced copy contact us and we'll make sure you get it). This paper focused on applications requiring ultra high placement accuracies of 1um to 3 um. We knew Dan's paper was a success when several attendees stopped in at the Palomar booth to say how impressed they were; these complements garnered further interest in Palomar's Model 6500 Ultra High Accuracy Die Bonder and its capabilities.
Myself, Steve Buerki from Palomar, partnered with Amanda Hartnett from Indium Corporation in presenting "Process Reliability Advantages of AuSn Eutectic Die Attach". This paper focused on applications for high-power semiconductor devices mounted using Gold Tin (AuSn) eutectic solder. Gold Tin solder is a robust die-attach material that can handle the temperature fluctuations generated by the microchip (die) and mechanical stresses due to CTE mismatches between the die material, and the substrate it is mounted to. This presentation was also well received and was by a long shot the largest attended presentation of the show.
- Steve Buerki
Posted by Rich Hueners on Tue, Nov 03, 2009 @ 06:41 PM
New HB LED applications require maximum thermal transfer to achieve ever higher and higher performance requirements. With that said, Eutectic Soldering provides the user high-quality, low-risk performance.
System Setup
For the purposes of this discussion, we will use Palomar's Automated Bonding Systems as examples of necessary system setups. The user will require an automated die attach (die bonding) machine with a Pulse Heat System (to perform the heat ramp and cool down that eutectic die attach die requires). Secondly, the user will require an automated wire bonder and ball bonder (Palomar's 8000 Hybrid Wire Bonder is recommended). Third, an Epoxy Dispenser will be required for "encapsulation". Currently, the Palomar MicroElectronics lab uses GPD Global's precision dispensing system for much of their encapsulation work. It is a terrific machine and not only a beauty to watch at work, but also aesthetically and acoustically pleasing.
Die Bonding details
The user will benefit greatly from a large work area combined with great accuracy (+/- 5 micron with Pulse Heat Eutectic processing). Additionally, the flexibility of the bonder will be an important factor. Flexibility can be defined as a wide range of options (pulse heat, steady state, handlers, etc), 8 tools available on-the-fly via turret and WIP and different tooling.
Palomar's 3500 Die Bonder has a 710 square inch work area with a Pulse Heat Stage/Profiling that includes:
- Temp up to 500'C
- Temp accuracy +/- 2'C
- Fast ramp, up to 100'C (no overshoot)
What is the Pulse Heat System? Very simply, it is a system to provide a heated platform for hard solder eutectic bonding (Au/Sn, Si, Ge). It "pulses heat" which means it raises temperature of heated area via HOT BAR; and it does this following a user-defined eutectic heat profile.
Palomar's Pulse Heat System gives a better eutectic attach, for this reason - improved performance through reduction in the following error:
You can see the "overshoot" in this graph. When performing HB LED attach, this error is very likely to damage the device. Having tight control over the Pulse Heat process is imperative!! The opportunity cost of getting it right the first time and making it repeatable pays for itself many times over. You get what you pay for in this context!
Here is Palomar's Pulse Heat Profile for contrast:
As you can see there is very tight control over the process. An excellent and consistent eutectic attach is the outcome with this Pulse Heat system/process.
The Die Bond Process performed in the Palomar MicroElectronics lab use advanced LED array programming tools and process experience. Here are some examples:
The Ball Bonder details
Much like the die bonder, large work area for the ball bonder is important and necessary: it gives the user the best possible access in HB LED die array applications. Palomar's automated 8000 Ball Bonder is both a wire bonder and ball bonder (and stud bumper). It can be argued that this is the industry's most advanced hardware and software tools for yield enhancement - the "smart" bonder. This ball bonder has a dual axis bond head. It's Zl and Zr optimize delivery of force and ultrasonics, enabling repeatable ball deformation and improved shear strength and looping control.
The wire bond process achieves high speed automated ball bonds that strings LED arrays and provide excellent looping. Here are some examples:
Testing
Test is accomplished through lighting up completed assemblies! This is a quick and easy test procedure.
