Abstract: A ball-bond arrangement comprising a bond pad of a semiconductor device and a wire ball-bonded to the bond pad, wherein the wire extending from the bonded ball has a diameter of 15 to 50 ?m, and comprises a silver-based wire core with a surface, the wire core having a coating layer superimposed on its surface, wherein the coating layer is a double-layer comprised of a 1 to 40 nm thick inner layer of palladium or nickel and an adjacent 20 to 500 nm thick outer layer of gold, and wherein the surface of the bonded ball has a gold coverage of 70 to 100%.

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 itself is a silver-based wire core, wherein the coating layer is a double-layer comprised of a 1 to 100 nm thick inner layer of nickel or palladium and an adjacent 1 to 250 nm thick outer layer of gold, characterized in that the wire exhibits a total carbon content of ?40 wt.-ppm.