Abstract: A bi-directional drive motor of the type having a force coil suspended in a magnetic field of a magnetic core assembly is provided. The force coil is made larger than the center pole piece which it surrounds so that the force coil is movable transverse to the length of the center pole piece as well as along its length to provide both X and Y directional movement. When two force coils are connected together on orthogonal axes and mounted in a common magnetic core assembly, X and Y directional movement is provided in a single drive motor system. When two drive motor systems are coupled to the same side of a top stage of a load platform, rotational or theta positioning is provided in addition to X and Y positional movement.

Abstract: A high speed low inertia fine wire clamp is provided for automatic wire bonders of the type which move the bond head and bond head frame relative to the workstation which supports the semiconductor device to be wire bonded. The wire clamp comprises a fixed clamp lever mounted on a bond head link and a movable lever which is pivotally mounted on the fixed wire clamp lever. The wire clamp jaws of the wire clamp levers are spring biased to a normally closed position and are moved relative to each other by a voice coil motor mounted on the wire clamp levers and controlled by a microprocessor to apply predetermined forces on the wire between the wire clamp jaws and to monitor the distance between the jaws.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided for monitoring conditions of a fine wire interconnection during a bonding operation. The apparatus comprise a system which is capable of being installed on new automatic wire bonders or retrofitted into existing automatic wire bonders of the type which employ a main bonding processor for controlling the motion of the bonding tool. The semiconductor to be bonded is connected to a reference voltage and a variable frequency oscillator is magnetically or a.c. coupled to the fine wire above the bonding tool and below the wire feed. The bonding wire incurs changes in inductive and capacitive reactance during the bonding operation which cause variations in the frequency of the oscillator. A series of frequency samples are taken and recorded during a teaching operation in which good wire bond interconnections are made.