An Evaluation of Corrosion Inhibitors for Use in Acid Decapsulation of Samples with Silver Bond Wires

Silver bond wires can be protected from damage during acid decapsulation by injecting a corrosion inhibitor into the acid stream. Recent experiments show that the injection of an iodic acid solution is effective over a wide range of process parameters, including etch time, etch temperature, and the amount of inhibitor injected. The results presented in the article are based on the use of a 0.3 M iodic acid solution and the decapsulation of parts containing silver alloy wire. However, similar results have been achieved on test samples with pure silver wire using a higher concentration inhibitor solution. Both solutions have very long shelf life and are relatively safe to handle.