Recrystallization of gold alloys for producing fine bonding wires

Recrystallization maps correlating deformation, temperature and hardness have been constructed for two types of gold alloys for producing 'hard' and 'medium-hard' fine bonding wires. Recrystallization initiation temperatures (T_i) and recrystallization temperatures (TΓ) were inferred from the maps. The values of T_i and TΓ. of the alloy for the 'hard' wire are about 80-100 K greater than those for the 'medium-hard' wire, which was attributed to the different dopants present in the materials. However, when fully annealed, the two types of gold materials possess similar hardnesses of between 35 to 40 HV or HK. The recrystallization map can serve as a general guide in choosing appropriate annealing conditions in gold bonding wire manufacturing processes.