Wire Bonders' Speak

The words "jellybean" and "odd form factor" are often used to describe the differences between the widely used semiconductor wire bonder and the more customized, less common-place hybrid wire bonder. At the end of the day, the choice of bonder will be determined by your application. 

The two bonders cater to different markets  and is arguably not considered a competitive product (semiconductor wire bonder manufactures is 90% of the wire bonder market, selling hundreds of bonders a year; the hybrid wire bonder manufacturers falls in later 10% of all bonders, with firms often selling fewer than 100 bonders a year). The heart of the difference lies in the bonder's speed, flexibility and bonding envelope. 

Semiconductor Bonder (Wire or Die)

1. Designed to build 10's of millions of a specific product, many times lead frame oriented (cell phones, PC components, etc) - user inconvenice is result of a bad wire
2. Very small bonding envelopes (typically 2x2 inch area)
3. Very fast, in part due to cantilevering the transducer; but this reduces overall interconnect reliability and it is measureable
   
4. Inexpensive (as compared to hybrid wire bonder)
5. Not very flexible 
6. Manufacturer unlikely to provide customization in tooling, stages, training, and on-site support
7. Little or no after sales support if buyer purchases <~5 bonders at a time (margins are volume driven)

Hybrid Bonder (Wire or Die)

1. Designed for high reliability interconnect requirements; the bonds MUST generate high reliability interconnects (radar systems, pace makers, LED arrays) - the lose of human life could be caused by a bad wire
   
2. Large bonding envelope in all three axis' X/Y, Z
3. Slower, in large part due to a perpendicular transducer/bonding tool at the time of ultrasonic activity, building a measurably better bond
   
4. Great flexiblity
5. Expensive (as compared to semiconductor wire bonder)
   
6. Manufacturer will customize tooling, stages, software, provide extensive options, create customized training, deliver excellent on-site support throughout the life of the product
7. After sales support is greater: more training, process assistance, etc. You are buying a "complete solution"

Aerospace and defense, medical device manufacturers, telecom and datacom (including photonics and broadband), and consumer high technology industries are exclusively served by the hybrid bonder, both in wire bonding and die attach. The semiconductor bonder simply is not designed to package things such as anti-lock brake systems, adaptive cruise control systems, flight hardware, missiles and spacecraft.

This brings us back to jellybean vs. odd form factor - both semi and hybrid have excellent manufacturers providing capital equipment. Each bonder type has its neccesary place in the market provided the interconnect basis of all technology today.