A semiconductor device includes an alignment mark which is arranged adjacent to each corner of a semiconductor chip, and a plug which contacts the alignment mark. The alignment mark is formed by part of the uppermost interconnection layer in a multilevel interconnection which is formed on the semiconductor chip and obtained by stacking low-permittivity insulating layers and interconnection layers. The plug is buried in a contact hole formed in the low-permittivity insulating layer below the alignment mark, and contacts the alignment mark.
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1. A semiconductor device comprising:
a semiconductor chip;
a guard ring which is formed by part of an uppermost interconnection layer in a multilevel interconnection that is formed on the semiconductor chip and obtained by stacking low-permittivity insulating layers and interconnection layers, the guard ring being arranged adjacent to each corner of the semiconductor chip; and
a conductive member which is buried in a contact hole formed in the low-permittivity insulating layer below the guard ring, and contacts the guard ring.
0. 26. A semiconductor device comprising:
a substrate;
a plurality of interlayer dielectric films including a first interlayer dielectric film and a second interlayer dielectric film, the second interlayer dielectric film being formed below the first interlayer dielectric film, two or more interlayer dielectric films having a pair of a low-k film and a barrier film;
a multilevel interconnection having a plurality of conductive layers;
an alignment mark formed by a first part of an uppermost conductive layer in the multilevel interconnection, the alignment mark being provided in the first interlayer dielectric film;
a guard ring formed by a second part of an uppermost conductive layer in the multilevel interconnection, the guard ring being provided in the first interlayer dielectric film and the guard ring surrounding the alignment mark;
a first contact portion provided below the guard ring in the first interlayer dielectric film, the first contact portion contacting the guard ring;
a first metal layer provided in the second interlayer dielectric film, the first metal layer contacting the first contact layer; and
a second contact portion provided in the second interlayer dielectric film, the second contact portion contacting the first metal layer.
0. 9. A semiconductor device comprising:
a substrate;
a plurality of interlayer dielectric films including a first interlayer dielectric film and a second interlayer dielectric film, the second interlayer dielectric film being formed below the first interlayer dielectric film, and two or more interlayer dielectric films having a pair of a low-k film and a barrier film;
a multilevel interconnection having a plurality of conductor layers;
a guard ring formed by a first part of an uppermost conductive layer in the multilevel interconnection, the guard ring being provided in the first interlayer dielectric film;
an alignment mark formed by a second part of an uppermost conductive layer in the multilevel interconnection, the alignment mark being provided in the first interlayer dielectric film;
a first contact portion provided below the guard ring in the first interlayer dielectric film, the first contact portion contacting the guard ring;
a first metal layer provided below the first contact portion in the second interlayer dielectric film, the first metal layer contacting the first contact portion; and
a second contact portion provided below the first metal layer in the second interlayer dielectric film, the second contact portion contacting the first metal layer.
2. A device according to
3. A device according to
the conductive member includes plugs which are buried in contact holes formed in the respective insulating layers in the multilevel interconnection, and
the guard ring contacts a surface of the semiconductor chip via the plugs.
4. A device according to
5. A device according to
7. A device according to
0. 10. A device according to claim 9, further comprising:
a passive element and an active element formed on the semiconductor substrate.
0. 11. A device according to claim 9, further comprising a plurality of third interlayer dielectric films stacked below the second interlayer dielectric film above the semiconductor substrate, a second metal layer and a third contact portion being provided in each of the third interlayer dielectric films, the third contact portion being provided below the second metal layer and contacting the second metal layer.
0. 12. A device according to claim 11, wherein the guard ring is electrically connected to the substrate through second metal layers and third contact portions in third interlayer dielectric films.
0. 13. A device according to claim 11, wherein the second metal layer and the third contact portion contain Cu and have a dual damascene structure.
0. 14. A device according to claim 9, wherein the guard ring is arranged adjacent to a periphery of the semiconductor substrate.
0. 15. A device according to claim 9, wherein a shape of the semiconductor substrate in a plane view is a rectangle, a plurality of alignment marks are formed at a plurality of corners of the substrate.
0. 16. A device according to claim 9, wherein the low-k film includes an SiOC film and the barrier film includes an SiCN film.
0. 17. A device according to claim 9, wherein the low-k film has a relative dielectric constant of 3.0 to 2.5.
0. 18. A device according to claim 9, wherein the guard ring has a width of not less than 10 μm.
0. 19. A device according to claim 9, further comprising:
a passive element and an active element formed on the semiconductor substrate; and
a plurality of third interlayer dielectric films stacked below the second interlayer dielectric film above the semiconductor substrate, a second metal layer and a third contact portion being provided in each of third interlayer dielectric films, the third contact portion being provided below the second metal layer and contacting the second metal layer.
0. 20. A device according to claim 19, further comprising:
a first insulating film is formed between the semiconductor substrate and the lowest of the third interlayer dielectric films,
wherein the second metal layer provided in the lowest of the third interlayer dielectric films and is electrically connected to the passive element or the active element via a fourth contact layer provided in the first insulating film.
0. 21. A device according to claim 20, wherein the first insulating film includes a BPSG film.
0. 22. A device according to claim 20, wherein the fourth contact layer includes a W film.
0. 23. A device according to claim 9, further comprising:
a wiring layer provided in the first interlayer dielectric film; and
a bonding pad formed on the wiring layer.
0. 24. A device according to claim 23, wherein the bonding pad includes an Al film.
0. 25. A device according to claim 9, wherein the alignment mark is electrically connected to the substrate.
0. 27. A device according to claim 26, further comprising:
a passive element and an active element formed on the substrate.
0. 28. A device according to claim 26, further comprising a plurality of third interlayer dielectric films stacked below the second interlayer dielectric film above the substrate, a second metal layer and a third contact portion being provided in each of the third interlayer dielectric films, the third contact portion being provided below the second metal layer and contacting the second metal layer.
0. 29. A device according to claim 28, wherein the guard ring is electrically connected to the substrate through second metal layers and third contact portions in third interlayer dielectric films.
0. 30. A device according to claim 28, wherein the second metal layer and the third contact portion contain Cu and have a dual damascene structure.
0. 31. A device according to claim 26, wherein a shape of the substrate in a plane view is a rectangle, a plurality of alignment marks are formed at a plurality of corners of the substrate.
0. 32. A device according to claim 26, wherein the low-k film includes an SiOC film and the barrier film includes an SiCN film.
0. 33. A device according to claim 26, wherein the low-k film has a relative dielectric constant of 3.0 to 2.5.
0. 34. A device according to claim 26, wherein the guard ring has a width of not less than 10 μm.
0. 35. A device according to claim 26, further comprising:
a passive element and an active element formed on the substrate; and
a plurality of third interlayer dielectric films stacked below the second interlayer dielectric film above the substrate, a second metal layer and a third contact portion being provided in each of third interlayer dielectric films, the third contact portion being provided below the second metal layer and contacting the second metal layer.
0. 36. A device according to claim 35, further comprising:
a first insulating film is formed between the substrate and the lowest of the third interlayer dielectric films,
wherein the second metal layer provided in the lowest of the third interlayer dielectric films and is electrically connected to the passive element or the active element via a fourth contact layer provided in the first insulating film.
0. 37. A device according to claim 36, wherein the first insulating film includes a BPSG film.
0. 38. A device according to claim 36, wherein the fourth contact layer includes a W film.
0. 39. A device according to claim 26, further comprising:
a wiring layer provided in the first interlayer dielectric film; and
a bonding pad formed on the wiring layer.
0. 40. A device according to claim 39, wherein the bonding pad includes an Al film.
0. 41. A device according to claim 26, further comprising:
another alignment mark provided in the second interlayer dielectric film or the third interlayer dielectric film.
0. 42. A device according to claim 26, wherein the alignment mark is electrically connected to the substrate.
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This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/731,148, filed Dec. 10, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,161,321 xand is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-340588, filed Sep. 30, 2003, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device which forms an alignment mark or guard ring by using part of the uppermost interconnection in a multilevel interconnection and, more particularly, to a semiconductor device which prevents peeling of a low-permittivity film by using a multilevel interconnection.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the interconnection pitch decreases along with micropatterning of LSIs, and an increase in the capacitance between interconnections inhibits an increase in the operation speed of LSIs. To solve this problem, a process of reducing the capacitance between interconnections by using a film having a low permittivity (to be also referred to as Low-k: relative dielectric constant of 3.0 or less) as an insulating film between multilevel interconnection layers is becoming popular.
In the use of a low-permittivity film as insulating films between multilevel interconnection layers as described above, the insulating film peels off from the corner of the chip upon dicing the wafer because the low-permittivity film is physically weak. Peeling readily occurs between a low-permittivity interlayer dielectric film and a thin barrier film such as an SiCN film.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor chip, an alignment mark which is formed by part of an uppermost interconnection layer in a multilevel interconnection that is formed on the semiconductor chip and obtained by stacking low-permittivity insulating layers and interconnection layers, the alignment mark being arranged adjacent to each corner of the semiconductor chip, and a conductive member which is buried in a contact hole formed in the low-permittivity insulating layer below the alignment mark, and contacts the alignment mark.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor chip, a guard ring which is formed by part of an uppermost interconnection layer in a multilevel interconnection that is formed on the semiconductor chip and obtained by stacking low-permittivity insulating layers and interconnection layers, the guard ring being arranged adjacent to each corner of the semiconductor chip, and a conductive member which is buried in a contact hole formed in the low-permittivity insulating layer below the guard ring, and contacts the guard ring.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor chip, a guard ring which is formed by part of an uppermost interconnection layer in a multilevel interconnection that is formed on the semiconductor chip and obtained by stacking low-permittivity insulating layers and interconnection layers, the guard ring being arranged adjacent to each corner of the semiconductor chip, a first conductive member which is buried in a first contact hole formed in the low-permittivity insulating layer below the guard ring, and contacts the guard ring, an alignment mark which is formed by part of the uppermost interconnection layer in the multilevel interconnection, and arranged near at least one corner of the semiconductor chip, and a second conductive member which is buried in a second contact hole formed in the low-permittivity insulating layer below the alignment mark, and contacts the alignment mark.
[First Embodiment]
As shown in
A method of manufacturing the semiconductor device shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
According to the technique of the present embodiment, as shown in
In the conventional technique, when a low-permittivity film is used as insulating films between multilevel interconnection layers, it peels off from the chip corner upon dicing the wafer because of its physical weakness. In the technique according to the present embodiment, the alignment mark 54 contacts the dicing line 52, and is connected to the silicon substrate 56 via the lower Cu interconnections (plugs) 75, 71, 67, and 63, physically reinforcing the chip end 51A. This can suppress peeling which readily occurs between the low-permittivity interlayer dielectric films 73, 69, 65, and 62 and the thin barrier films 76, 72, 68, and 64 such as SiCN films. No interlayer dielectric film peels off from the chip corner upon dicing the wafer.
[Second Embodiment]
As shown in
The chip 51 having the structure as shown in
The chip 51 formed in this manner has a distance of substantially 0 from the chip corner 51A to the guard ring 55. The guard ring 55 has a distance of substantially 0 from the chip end 51A to the guard ring 55. The guard ring 55 is arranged at a position adjacent to the dicing line 52, and electrically connected to a silicon substrate 56 (diffusion layer) via plugs (conductive members) formed by the fourth to first Cu layers and tungsten.
More specifically, in the first embodiment, the alignment mark 54 is arranged at the chip end 51A. In the second embodiment, the guard ring 55 is arranged along each side of the chip 51 adjacent to the dicing line region 52, and the alignment mark 54′ is arranged apart from the chip end 51A. As shown in
The remaining basic structure and the manufacturing method shown in
As described above, according to the second embodiment, the guard ring 55 contacts the dicing line 52, and is connected to the silicon substrate 56 via lower Cu interconnections (plugs) 75, 71, 67, and 63. This can physically suppress peeling which readily occurs between low-permittivity interlayer dielectric films and thin barrier films such as SiCN films. No interlayer dielectric film peels off from the chip corner upon dicing the wafer.
The case in which the guard ring 55 is arranged along the four sides of the chip 51 has been exemplified. The interlayer dielectric film peels off first from the chip corner, and thus the guard ring 55 need not always be arranged along the four sides of the chip 51 as far as the guard ring 55 is arranged at least at each corner.
[Third Embodiment]
As shown in
The structure shown in
In the third embodiment, as shown in
The distance from the chip end 51A to the guard ring 55′ is substantially 0. The guard ring 55′ is arranged at a position adjacent to the dicing line 52, and electrically connected to a silicon substrate 56 (diffusion layer) via plugs (conductive members) formed by the fourth to first Cu layers and tungsten.
As shown in
Although the second and third embodiments adopt both the guard ring and alignment mark, substantially the same effects can also be obtained by arranging only the guard ring.
The alignment mark has an L shape in the first to third embodiments, but can employ any other shape as far as peeling of the chip corner can be prevented. In particular, the second and third embodiments prevent peeling by the guard ring, and the guard ring can use various planar shapes such as a T shape or cross shape.
As described above, according to one aspect of this invention, an alignment mark or guard ring is arranged adjacent to the corner of a semiconductor chip, and contacts a dicing line. A plug is arranged in a lower layer in contact with the alignment mark, thereby physically reinforcing the corner of the semiconductor chip. With this structure, peeling of a low-permittivity interlayer dielectric film can be effectively prevented.
The embodiments of the present invention can provide a semiconductor device capable of suppressing peeling of an interlayer dielectric film from a chip corner upon dicing a wafer.
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
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