Fremont, CA, May 10, 2012 – Hesse Mechatronics, Inc., the Americas subsidiary of Hesse GmbH, leading manufacturer of high speed fine pitch wedge bonders for the backend semiconductor industry, will discuss “Large Diameter Wedge Bonding of Round and Ribbon Wire for Automotive Applications” during IMAPS 3rd Advanced Technology Workshop and Tabletop Exhibition on Automotive Microelectronics and Packaging, taking place at the Dearborn Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan May 22-24, 2012. Hesse’s presentation is included in Session 3: Wire Bonding and Interconnects from 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, May 23.

In the electronic assembly of high current automotive engine control modules and other under-the-hood devices, wedge bonding using large diameter aluminum or copper round or ribbon wire is the most suitable method of interconnection. Bonding large diameter wire and ribbon, however, requires significantly more energy than bonding fine wire, in addition to other higher bond parameters and metallization thickness on leads or substrates. As a result, the dynamics of bonding heavy wire are very different from fine wire bonding. Relative stiffness for 20 mil wire is 160,000 times that of a 1 mil wire, so significant looping forces are applied to both the first bond and underlying metallization while bending the wire. Looping strategies relating to loop profile and trajectory that minimize bond stress are also important since they affect bond quality.

The Hesse presentation will discuss the use of heavy wedge bonding for automotive applications, focusing on metallization requirements, wire properties, bonder parameters and bond strength testing.Lee Levine, Distinguished Member of the Hesse Technical Staff and owner of Process Solutions Consulting, Inc., will conduct the presentation. With more than 4 decades of engineering experience in the semiconductor industry, Mr. Levine has been involved in the development of major innovations including copper ball bonding and loop shapes for thin, small outline packages (TSOP and TSSOP, and CSPs) as well as the introduction of statistical techniques for understanding assembly processes. He is also an IMAPS Fellow and former IMAPS V.P. Technology.

For more information on this presentation, visit IMAPS’ website.  For more information on wedge bonders, please visit the company’s website at www.hesse–mechatronics.com.