Joyce, Asking this for a friend that is already distant from the party in need so I am very handicapped when it comes to needed details. I am used to having this ability in-house so am a bit confused as to why they don't, but ... I will ask the questions anyway.... It is likely automotive, so I would likely rule out Au plating. I don't know the wedge bonder involved, but assume it is a 120KHz transducer. All of those details would have to be laid out, along with the CAD model. I already suggested that they go back to the equipment mfr for some degree of assistance. I've experienced issues related to mold flash and mold release and all the issues they cause when your back is turned on the supplier. Why some lots have problems and others don't. It's enough to make you pull your hair out when a molder has no concept of what 'just a little more' mold release can do, etc... I don't know if the leads are cantilevered in from the side of the package, or up through the base, or what their configuration or dimensions are. Sometimes a 'look' will tell a great deal, but I am unlikely to get that either. Depending on their degree of distress - finding an answer can be worth a great deal! Thanks for everyone's inputs thus far [Vlad, Stewart, Joyce]! Keep 'em coming! Steve C -----Original Message----- From: Joyce Koo [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 9:31 AM To: [log in to unmask]; 'Steven Creswick' Subject: RE: [TN] Failure Analysis Labs for Heavy Wire Bonding Issues Al bond on Ag spot plated leadframe? Or gold plated leadframe? You need more just FA, you need know bonding machine and frequency, etc. etc. a process development on its own... better not on a product...(a bit late if it is done on product - very costly... you must have deep pocket for Vlad ;-) Joyce Koo Researcher Materials Interconnect Lab Office: (519) 888-7465 79945 BlackBerry: (226) 220-4760 -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steven Creswick Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 8:36 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Failure Analysis Labs for Heavy Wire Bonding Issues Good morning everyone! Hoping someone can help on this somewhat unique situation - A party is performing heavy wire Al bonding of 12 & 20 mil wire between a PWB and the leads of an over-molded package. They are looking for an outside lab to perform testing/failure analysis in an attempt to determine the root cause/s of frequent bond misses. (It appears they have minimal analysis capability in-house.) The first things that I think of with heavy wire Al bonding issues are insufficient clamping during bonding, mold flash on the leads, mold release on the leads, and lead oscillation (harmonics) during bonding. Does anyone know of a good failure analysis lab that can provide these services? The company is located in the central US, but ultimately, the lab can be anywhere. Two possible that come to mind are: Foresite Labs - http://www.residues.com/ Constellation Technology, in Largo, Florida - http://www.contech.com/ Anyone have others?? Steve Creswick Sr Associate - Balanced Enterprise Solutions http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevencreswick 616 834 1883 ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________