Materials Science and Advanced Applications of Wire Bonding in Microelectronics Packaging: From Fine-Pitch Interconnects to Next-Generation Reliability

Closes:
Guest editor(s)

Dr. Chong Leong

,

Dr. Christopher

,

Dr. Chen-Yu

,

Introduction

Wire bonding remains the most widely deployed first-level interconnect technology in microelectronics packaging, valued for its reliability, cost-effectiveness, and versatility. Continuous innovations in bonding wire materials, process technologies, encapsulation chemistries, and equipment intelligence have expanded its role in advanced applications such as power electronics, automotive, MEMS/sensors, photonics, biomedical devices, and heterogeneous System-in-Package (SiP) integration. Despite the rise of flip-chip and hybrid bonding for high-bandwidth memory, wire bonding continues to dominate in cost-sensitive, high-reliability, and high-power applications.

 

List of topic areas

  • Theme A — Bonding Wire Materials & Metallurgy Focuses on Au, Cu, Ag, Pd/Au-coated Cu, and recycled Au bonding wires, including alloying, EBSD texture, drawing/annealing effects, bondability, and reliability.
  • Theme B — Intermetallic Compounds (IMC) & Interfacial Reactions Covers Au-Al, Cu-Al, and Ag-Al IMC formation, growth kinetics, phase evolution, Kirkendall voiding, oxidation, diffusion modeling, and bond-pad metallization effects.
  • Theme C — Process Technology & Equipment Addresses thermosonic bonding process optimization, free-air-ball control, fine-pitch bonding below 30 µm, low-loop structures, and stand-off stitch bonding for advanced packages.
  • Theme D — Encapsulation, EMC & Environmental Interactions Examines EMC/DAF chemistry, ion-catcher systems, moisture-bias effects, halide mobility, Cu corrosion, wire sweep, loop stability, and bond integrity.
  • Theme E — Reliability & Failure Analysis Focuses on wire-bond reliability under HTSL, uHAST, TCT, PCT, drop, and shock, including stitch lift, heel cracking, IMC fracture, and advanced FA methods.
  • Theme F — Advanced Applications Highlights wire-bonding applications in power, automotive, MEMS, sensors, photonics, biomedical devices, heterogeneous SiP, chiplets, and SiC/GaN heavy-ribbon modules.
  • Theme G — Hybrid Wire-Bonding Technologies & AI-Assisted Bonding Addresses hybrid wire-bond integration with advanced interconnects and intelligent automation in next-generation bonder platforms. G1. Hybrid Wire-Bond + Flip-chip Advanced Packaging Covers wire bonds coexisting with Cu-posts/Cu-pillars, including process windows, stress interactions, EMC flow, mixed-interconnect reliability, and pad/RDL design. G2. Hybrid Wire-Bond + Flip-Chip for System-in-Package (SiP) Applications Addresses mixed flip-chip and wire-bond SiP modules, stacked-die integration, underfill interactions, warpage, substrate co-design, interposers, and chiplet routing. G3. AI / ML-Assisted Wire Bonding Explores AI/ML for loop optimization, reference-point detection, adaptive calibration, predictive control, AOI defect classification, bonder digital twins, and recipe generation.

 

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/miij

Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/mi 

Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.

Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

 

Key deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 03/08/2026

Closing date for manuscripts submission: 31/03/2027

Closing date for abstract submission: 28/02/2027