Seal ring structure with rounded corners for semiconductor devices

Abstract

Seal ring structures are provided with rounded corner junctions or corner junctions that include polygons. The seal rings surround generally rectangular semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits, image sensors and other devices. The seal ring includes a configuration of two sets of generally parallel opposed sides and the corner junctions are the junctions at which adjacent orthogonal seal ring sides are joined. The seal rings are trench structures or filled trench structures in various embodiments. The rounded corner junctions are formed by a curved arc or multiple line segments joined together at various angles. The corner junctions that include one or more enclosed polygons include polygons with at least one polygon side being formed by one of the seal ring sides.

Description

[0001] Cross References to Related Applications [0002] This application claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 780,154, filed March 13, 2013, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. technical field [0003] The present invention relates generally to semiconductor devices and image sensors and methods of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to seal ring structures used in such devices. Background technique [0004] Seal ring structures are commonly used to surround integrated circuit devices, image sensing devices including front-illuminated and back-illuminated image sensing devices, and other semiconductor devices formed on silicon or other semiconductor chips. The seal ring structure internally or externally surrounds the silicon or other semiconductor chip comprising the semiconductor device, thereby isolating the semiconductor device and protecting it from the stress energy of other components. If the sealing r...

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