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A known challenge is preserving copper bond wires during decapsulation, as conventional acid processes can damage the wires. This becomes even more critical when silver-plated leadframes are used, since acid and conventional plasma etching readily attack silver and make stitch bond exposure difficult. This work, by Sumitomo Bakelite, presents a decapsulation process based on Microwave

2025 has been a meaningful year for JIACO Instruments in many ways.  We commemorate the passing of our co-founder, Prof. Kees Beenakker. His pioneering work and the inspiration he shared with colleagues continue to shape the MIP and guide JIACO Instruments into the future.  We’re proud of our achievements in 2025, including: – Plenary talk by Prof. Kees Beenakker at ICEPT 2025  –

Conventional acid decapsulation is well known to damage copper wire bonds, leading to artificially low Cpk values that do not represent the original sample condition. This effect becomes more severe for wire diameters below 25 um and when high Tg mold compounds are used. Acid processes can also leave residues on the die surface, damage

The JIACO Instruments sales & applications teams have returned from a busy and insightful ISTFA 2025 where we met with many existing & potential customers on how we can support their localised decapsulation & etching challenges. This year ISTFA focused on advanced packaging, with the AMD keynote underlining a key trend in the growth in

This Monday (17th of November), our colleagues Sarah Zerouali and Mark McKinnon presented ”The Tools of the Trade” at JIACO Instruments booth (#715). They introduced ISTFA’s attendees to the MIP and MIP+ machines and their applications, by highlighting two customer papers, which will be presented during ISTFA 2025. Brandon Capellini from Analog Devices‘ paper on Efficient Preparation of GaAs devices utilizing JIACO’s MIP decapsulation.

With gold prices hitting record-highs, the transition from gold to alternative wire bond materials is increasing.    Where gold can withstand acid decapsulation, substitute materials such as Ag or Cu are at a much greater risk of damage. With a market demanding more sophisticated results, acid decapsulation is not sufficient to meet the requirements anymore.  JIACO