Semiconductor Structure With Nested Sidewall Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing process of semiconductor chips faces challenges such as stress-induced damage and erosion from water vapor or gases during chip cutting, leading to reduced reliability due to exposure of side surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor structure and manufacturing method involving the formation of an I-shaped member and a wall-shaped member, where the wall-shaped member's height is greater than or equal to the I-shaped member's height, ensuring the I-shaped member is enclosed and protected from stress expansion and gas/liquid erosion, thereby enhancing the reliability of the semiconductor structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the semiconductor chip side surfaces are exposed during cutting, then the manufacturing process is simple, but stress expansion and erosion from water vapor or gases cause reduced reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nesting by placing the I-shaped member inside the wall-shaped member, creating a nested structure where the I-shaped member is enclosed by the wall-shaped member's sidewalls. This nested configuration provides enhanced protection against stress expansion and erosion while maintaining structural integrity during chip cutting operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the protective structure into two distinct components: the I-shaped member and the wall-shaped member. This segmentation allows each component to fulfill specific protective functions, with the wall-shaped member providing external protection and the I-shaped member providing internal support, thereby improving overall reliability without excessive complexity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the I-shaped member is enclosed by the wall-shaped member, then erosion from water vapor or gases is prevented, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by forming the protective wall-shaped member structure before completing the I-shaped member. The wall-shaped member is formed first with sidewalls extending from the substrate, and then the I-shaped member is formed within this pre-established protective framework. This sequence ensures erosion protection is in place before final structural elements are added.
Solution Approach 2:
The nested configuration allows the I-shaped member to be formed within the pre-existing wall-shaped member structure, enabling the harmful factors to be blocked by the outer wall structure while the inner I-shaped member is subsequently added, thus protecting against erosion during the manufacturing process itself.
3Strength
If the wall-shaped member height is increased to fully enclose the I-shaped member, then stress expansion is reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the height of the wall-shaped member's sidewalls at different locations. The sidewalls extend to different heights relative to the I-shaped member, providing enhanced stress resistance where needed while maintaining manufacturing feasibility. This localized variation in height allows optimal protection without requiring uniform high precision across the entire structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the height parameter of the wall-shaped member's sidewalls to optimize both stress resistance and manufacturing precision. By allowing the sidewalls to extend to different heights rather than requiring a uniform height greater than the I-shaped member, the design achieves adequate stress protection while relaxing the dimensional precision requirements for manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
A manufacturing method of a semiconductor structure includes: a substrate is provided; and an intermediate layer is formed on the substrate, an I-shaped member and a wall-shaped member are formed in the intermediate layer, a top surface of the wall-shaped member is not lower than a top surface of the I-shaped member, and a bottom surface of the wall-shaped member is not higher than a bottom surface of the I-shaped member.