New technology for the design of advanced ultrasonic transducers for high-power applications

A new high-frequency ultrasonic transducer for wire bonding has been conceived, designed, prototyped and tested. In the design phase an advanced approach was used and established. The method is based on the two basic principles of modularity and iteration. The transducer is decomposed to its elementary components. For each component an initial design is obtained with finite elements method (FEM) simulations. The simulated ultrasonic modules are then built and characterized experimentally through laser-interferometry measurements and electrical resonance spectra. The comparison of simulation results with experimental data allows the parameters of FEM models to be iteratively adjusted and optimized. The achieved FEM simulations exhibit a remarkably high-predictive potential and allow full control on the vibration behavior of the ultrasonic modules and of the whole transducer. The new transducer is fixed on the wire bonder with a flange whose special geometry was calculated by means of FEM simulations. This flange allows the converter to be attached on the wire bonder not only in longitudinal nodes but also in radial nodes of the ultrasonic field excited in the horn. This leads to a nearly complete decoupling of the transducer to the wire bonder, which has not been previously obtained. The new approach to mount ultrasonic transducers on a welding-device is of major importance not only for wire bonding but also for all high-power ultrasound applications and has been patented. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.