Abstract: Provided is a technology of suppressing, in forming an initial ball by using an easily oxidizable conductive wire and pressing the initial ball onto a pad to form a press-bonded ball, an initial ball from having a shape defect, thereby reducing damage to the pad. To achieve this, a ball formation unit is equipped with a gas outlet portion for discharging an antioxidant gas and a discharging path through this gas outlet portion is placed in a direction different from a direction of introducing the antioxidant gas into a ball formation portion. Such a structure widens a region for discharging the antioxidant gas, making it possible to prevent a gas flow supplied from the side of one side surface of the ball formation portion from being reflected by the other side surface facing with the one side surface and thereby forming a turbulent flow.

Abstract: A risk of an electrical short between electrode pads of a semiconductor device can be reduced to thereby improve quality of the semiconductor device. During ball bonding in wire bonding, in each of the electrode pads of a semiconductor chip which are arrayed along an ultrasonic wave application direction (ultrasonic vibration direction), a ball at the tip of a copper wire and the electrode pad are coupled to each other while being rubbed against each other in a direction intersecting the ultrasonic wave application direction. Thus, the amount of AL splash formed on the electrode pad can be minimized to make the AL splash smaller. As a result, the quality of the semiconductor device assembled by the above-mentioned ball bonding can be improved.

Abstract: Provided is a technology of suppressing, in forming an initial ball by using an easily oxidizable conductive wire and pressing the initial ball onto a pad to form a press-bonded ball, an initial ball from having a shape defect, thereby reducing damage to the pad. To achieve this, a ball formation unit is equipped with a gas outlet portion for discharging an antioxidant gas and a discharging path through this gas outlet portion is placed in a direction different from a direction of introducing the antioxidant gas into a ball formation portion. Such a structure widens a region for discharging the antioxidant gas, making it possible to prevent a gas flow supplied from the side of one side surface of the ball formation portion from being reflected by the other side surface facing with the one side surface and thereby forming a turbulent flow.

Abstract: A risk of an electrical short between electrode pads of a semiconductor device can be reduced to thereby improve quality of the semiconductor device. During ball bonding in wire bonding, in each of the electrode pads of a semiconductor chip which are arrayed along an ultrasonic wave application direction (ultrasonic vibration direction), a ball at the tip of a copper wire and the electrode pad are coupled to each other while being rubbed against each other in a direction intersecting the ultrasonic wave application direction. Thus, the amount of AL splash formed on the electrode pad can be minimized to make the AL splash smaller. As a result, the quality of the semiconductor device assembled by the above-mentioned ball bonding can be improved.