Packaging · Topic 6 of 14
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PackagingLesson 6 of 14
Wire bonding
Connecting die pads to the package with fine metal wires.
What you’ll learn
- How wire bonding works
- Its advantages
- Its limits vs flip-chip
Why it matters
Wire bonding is the most common, lowest-cost die-attach interconnect.
Explanation
Wire bonding welds thin gold or copper wires from the die's peripheral pads to the package leads, one connection at a time. It's mature, flexible, and inexpensive.
Because pads sit around the die edge and wires add inductance, it limits connection count and high-speed performance compared with flip-chip.
Visual explanation
Key terminology
- Bond wire
- The fine wire connecting die to package.
- Bond pad
- The die metal pad a wire attaches to.
Example
A sensor chip uses a few dozen wire bonds around its perimeter.
Common mistakes
Watch out for:
- Assuming wire bonding is obsolete — it's still dominant by unit volume.
Real-world application
High-pin-count processors moved to flip-chip; many other chips still wire-bond.
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Wire bonding
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Flip chip
Packaging
Mounting the die face-down on solder bumps for dense, fast connections.
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