A neural network model for the wire bonding process

A crucial step in manufacturing microcircuits is the wire bonding process in which a very thin gold wire must be formed to connect two surfaces in the microcircuit. The quality of the wire bond can be measured by visual inspection and a pull test-both of which are high-reliability, high-cost approaches to statistical process control. Westinghouse wanted to develop a high-reliability, low-cost quality assurance system. In this paper, the authors report on a year-long study to construct a neural network model that is capable of predicting the quality of wire bonds. The results of the present modeling efforts reveal that neural networks are useful tools for statistical process control problems.