Atmospheric pressure plasma is used in wire bonding as a selective fine cleaning step to remove contamination and residues from the contact surfaces. In general, strong bonds between wire and substrate can only be achieved on clean contact surfaces (bond pads). Thus, plasma treatment has a considerable effect on the quality and consequently the reliability of the entire component. Together with TPT Wire Bonder from Karlsfeld and the joint partner Axend Pte Ltd., relyon plasma has investigated the effects of cold atmospheric pressure plasma on wire bonding with gold wire.