Adding traces of an alloying element
into gold bonding wires to
improve mechanical performance is an important strategy for meeting
the requirements of chip miniaturization. The mechanism of traces
of elements to strengthen gold bonding wires is unclear. Using microstructure
characterization, we find that traces of Ce have a more obvious effect
on strengthening gold wires via grain refinement than Lu does. Atomic
simulation based on stochastic surface walking and density functional
theory calculation show that Ce significantly segregates at the grain
boundary (GB), increases the energy barrier of shuffling motion, and
prevents GB migration inducing a typical solute drag effect, but the
segregation of Lu at GB is weak, which well accounts for the better
grain refinement effects of Ce. Our results not only are fundamental
for developing high-strength gold bonding wires but also provide new
knowledge on GB shuffling motion and the nature of the solute drag
effect.
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