Broken Wire in failure analysis refers to wire bond fractures that cause electrical opens in semiconductor packages, a common failure mode in packaged ICs.

What Is Broken Wire Failure?

• Location: Can occur at ball neck, loop span, or stitch heel
• Causes: Mechanical stress, thermal fatigue, corrosion, vibration
• Detection: Electrical open test, X-ray imaging, decapsulation
• Failure Rate: Increases with thermal cycling and wire length

Why Broken Wire Analysis Matters

Wire bonds are often the weakest link in packages. Understanding failure modes guides design improvements and reliability predictions.

<svg viewBox="0 0 351 169" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="max-width:100%;height:auto" role="img"><rect x="0" y="0" width="351" height="169" rx="12" fill="#0d1117"/><g font-family="ui-monospace,SFMono-Regular,Menlo,Consolas,&quot;Liberation Mono&quot;,monospace" font-size="14"><text xml:space="preserve" x="20" y="31.7"><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">Common Fracture Locations:</tspan></text><text xml:space="preserve" x="20" y="50.7"><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">                    Loop stress point</tspan></text><text xml:space="preserve" x="20" y="69.7"><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">        ╭</tspan><tspan fill="#6e7681">────────────</tspan><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">╮</tspan></text><text xml:space="preserve" x="20" y="88.7"><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">    ○</tspan><tspan fill="#6e7681">═══│</tspan><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">            </tspan><tspan fill="#6e7681">│═══</tspan><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">○</tspan></text><text xml:space="preserve" x="20" y="107.7"><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">    </tspan><tspan fill="#6e7681">│</tspan><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">   </tspan><tspan fill="#6e7681">↑</tspan><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">            </tspan><tspan fill="#6e7681">↑</tspan><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">   </tspan><tspan fill="#6e7681">│</tspan></text><text xml:space="preserve" x="20" y="126.7"><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">  Ball  Neck       Heel  Stitch</tspan></text><text xml:space="preserve" x="20" y="145.7"><tspan fill="#c9d1d9">  bond  crack      crack bond</tspan></text></g></svg>

Failure Analysis Steps: 1. Electrical characterization (identify open pins) 2. X-ray inspection (non-destructive) 3. Acoustic microscopy (detect cracks) 4. Decapsulation and optical inspection 5. SEM analysis of fracture surface 6. Root cause determination (mechanical, chemical, thermal)