Did you know the Sigma is the fastest bond tester?
It is well known that the Sigma is the most accurate bond tester on the market, featuring unparalleled 0.075% accuracy. Fewer people know that it is also the fastest bond tester in the world. In a controlled study with experienced users, the throughput of both the Sigma and the most well known competiting system were compared. The Sigma proved to be up to 39% faster.
Units per hour study
The throughput or units per hour (UPH) is affected by the many different test requirements and sample types. This comparison was made for fine wire first bond shear and fine wire pull. These being tests that typically require a high UPH. The shear tests were done on a sample with 35μm gold ball bond at 50μm pitch. The pull tests were done on 25μm aluminium wire at 150μm pitch.
39% faster stages
The study shows that in the shear tests the Sigma is 4,1% faster than the competitor. In the pull tests with auto hook the Sigma is 23,7% faster and without auto hook the difference is even bigger at 39,3%.
It should be noted that these test were a basic comparison for the time to test a single row of bonds. This makes the comparison possible with identical setups on the two machines. In practice the sample would have to be moved long distances between the die, and/or turned to test other rows on the die or lead frame. If these times were taken into account, the Sigma would clearly increase its lead over the competition because of its following advantages:
- Higher axis speed
- Quick change work holders
- Revolving Measurement Unit (RMU) giving new tools at the click of a button
- Easier microscope setup between operators at a shift change
It should also be noted that the above and measured speed advantage of the Sigma would apply equally when testing automatically.
