Pacer - Solid State Supplies
About the customer
Building on many years of experience as a specialist photonics and display provider, Solid State can take an optoelectronic or custom display assembly from an idea or concept, through specification, design, prototyping and pre-production into full production.
HPT-300 at the manufacturing facilities in Weymouth
Problem
The manufacturing processes at Solid State Supplies requires a scrupulously clean environment. Solid State has invested in a class 7 cleanroom and employs best practice cleaning procedures to ensure product quality is always of the highest possible standard. When the production process involves wire bonding, it’s critical that the surface of the die is pristine to achieve the best possible bond quality.
Solution
To this end, the team uses a Henniker Plasma HPT-300 microprocessor-controlled benchtop plasma treatment system. Plasma cleaning is regarded as something of an industry standard for wire bonding, and the HPT-300 was chosen for its reliability and ability to clean a wide range of materials including polymers, metals, glass and ceramics.
The HPT-300 is used daily at Solid State, to clean the surfaces of both ceramics and pcbs to ensure the gold or aluminium bond pads are in a pristine condition ready for wire bonding. The end assemblies are currently destined mainly for medical applications, but the process will also benefit defence projects in the near future.
Plasma cleaning process
Before and After Plasma Treatment
Results
Wire bond failure rates have been extremely low while the Henniker Plasma cleaner has been in operation at Solid State. The company’s quality procedures monitor the strength of the bond wires and the type and number of failure modes encountered in finished products, and the team is very pleased with the results. Operation of the machine has been trouble-free with excellent reliability. The chart below shows how the strength of the wire bonds improves depending on the cleaning method used.
Chart showing the effect of plasma clean on the strength of wire bonds.
“Wire bond failure rates have been extremely low while the Henniker Plasma cleaner has been in operation at Solid State. Operation of the machine has been trouble-free with excellent reliability. ”
Watch the video below to see the system in action! or Click here to download the full Case Study
Reliable Wire Bonding Treatment
The Solid State Supplies design and manufacturing facility in Weymouth offers an end-to-end solution for optoelectronic and display assemblies. The team uses a Henniker Plasma HPT-300 microprocessor-controlled benchtop plasma treatment system. Plasma cleaning is regarded as something of an industry standard for wire bonding, and the HPT-300 was chosen for its reliability and ability to clean a wide range of materials including polymers, metals, glass and ceramics. Wire bond failure rates have been extremely low while the Henniker Plasma cleaner has been in operation at Solid State. See the Plasma Cleaner in action here!
