Semiconductor lead attachment system including a semiconductor pellet orientation plate

Claim 1

In an improved semiconductor lead attachment system for applying external leads to contact areas formed on semiconductor pellets which previously constituted a parent wafer, said system having thermal bonding means for joining to said contact areas external leads registered in bonding relation therewith, and having lead-feeding means for feeding successive sets of external leads into bonding relation with the contact areas of pellets successively indexed into bonding relation with the thermal bonding means, wherein a plurality of said semiconductor pellets are secured to the top of pedestal-shaped supports defined by a network of grooves in a semiconductor orientation plate of heat conductive material by a layer of thermally variable adhesive, said pellets being in the same relative position to each other that they occupied in said parent wafer before application thereto to said plate, the improvement comprising heating means associated with said bonding means for reducing the adhesiveness of said adhesive layer during joining of each external lead to its respective contact area to facilitate release of the bonded pellet from the pedestal-shaped support, and means associated with the lead-feeding means for removing from its pedestal each successive heated pellet to which leads are bonded.