Abstract: A process for electrically connecting contact surfaces of electronic components by capillary wedge bonding a round wire of 8 to 80 ?m to the contact surface of a first electronic component, forming a wire loop, and stitch bonding the wire to the contact surface of a second electronic component, wherein the wire comprises a wire core having a silver or silver-based wire core with a double-layered coating comprised of a 1 to 50 nm thick inner layer of nickel or palladium and an adjacent 5 to 200 nm thick outer layer of gold.

Abstract: A wire comprising a wire core with a surface, the wire core having a coating layer superimposed on its surface, wherein the wire core includes: (a) pure silver consisting of silver and further components; or (b) doped silver consisting of silver, at least one doping element, and further components; or (c) a silver alloy consisting of silver, palladium and further components; or (d) a silver alloy consisting of silver, palladium, gold, and further components; or (e) a doped silver alloy consisting of silver, palladium, gold, at least one doping element, and further components, wherein the individual amount of any further component is less than 30 wt.-ppm and the individual amount of any doping element is at least 30 wt.-ppm, and the coating layer is a single-layer of gold or palladium or a double-layer comprised of an inner layer of nickel or palladium and an adjacent outer layer of gold.

Abstract: A wire comprising a wire core with a surface, the wire core having a coating layer superimposed on its surface, wherein the wire core includes: (a) pure silver consisting of silver and further components; or (b) doped silver consisting of silver, at least one doping element, and further components; or (c) a silver alloy consisting of silver, palladium and further components; or (d) a silver alloy consisting of silver, palladium, gold, and further components; or (e) a doped silver alloy consisting of silver, palladium, gold, at least one doping element, and further components, wherein the individual amount of any further component is less than 30 wt.-ppm and the individual amount of any doping element is at least 30 wt.-ppm, and the coating layer is a single-layer of gold or palladium or a double-layer comprised of an inner layer of nickel or palladium and an adjacent outer layer of gold.

Abstract: A bonding wire and a method of manufacturing the bonding wire are provided. The bonding wire contains 90.0 to 99.0 wt % of silver (Ag); 0.2 to 2.0 wt % of gold (Au); 0.2 to 4.0 wt % of palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), rhodium (Rh), or a combination thereof; 10 to 1000 ppm of dopants; and inevitable impurities. In the wire, the ratio of (a)/(b) is 3 to 5, in which (a) represents the amount of crystal grains having <100> orientation in crystalline orientations <hkl> in a wire lengthwise direction and (b) represents the amount of crystal grains having <111> orientation in crystalline orientations <hkl> in the wire lengthwise direction.