Easily crack checkable semiconductor device

• US 20060071284A1
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Published: 04/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Tai, Akira, Nakayama, Yoshiaki
• Application Number:
  US11/239,088
• Publication Number:
  US 20060071284A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/379
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02129 the material being boron or phosphorus doped silicon oxides, e.g. BPSG, BSG or PSG
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/31612 on a silicon body
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/31625 Deposition of boron or phosphorus doped silicon oxide, e.g. BSG, PSG, BPSG
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/34 Circuits for electrically characterising or monitoring manufacturing processes, e. g. whole test die, wafers filled with test structures, on-board-devices incorporated on each die, process control monitors or pad structures thereof, devices in scribe line switching, multiplexing, gating devices G01R19/25; process control with lithography, e.g. dose control, G03F7/20; structures for alignment control by optical means G03F7/70633
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

A semiconductor device includes a first insulation film, a second insulation film, a thin film resistor interposed between the insulation films. A predetermined voltage is applied to the thin film resistor so that a current flows through the thin film resistor. When a crack occurs in the insulation films, the thin film resistor is partially destroyed and the resistance of the thin film resistor changes. The crack is detected by measuring the change in resistance of the thin film resistor based on the predetermined voltage and the current flowing through the thin film resistor. Therefore, a crack inspection can be conducted without destruction of the device.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device comprising:

a substrate;

a semiconductor element disposed on the substrate;

a first insulation film disposed on the substrate;

a second insulation film disposed on a surface of the first insulation film;

a thin film resistor disposed between the first and the second insulation films;

a first electrode pad disposed on one end of the thin film resistor; and

a second electrode pad disposed on the other end of the thin film resistor,

wherein

a predetermined voltage is applied to the thin film resistor using the first and the second electrode pads to pass an electric current through the thin film resistor, and

when a crack occurs in at least one of the first and the second insulation film, the thin film resistor is at least partially destroyed so that the amount of the current changes.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the second electrode pad is electrically connected to a ground.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the thin film resistor includes a plurality of line portions to be spaced from each other so that a stripe pattern appears on a surface of the thin film resistor,

the line portions are merged with each other at both ends of the line potions to connect the first and the second electrode pads, and

when a crack occurs in at least one of the first and the second insulation films, at least one of the line portions is disconnected.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the resistance of the thin film resistor is determined based on the predetermined voltage applied to the thin film resistor and the current flowing through the thin film resistor, and

it is determined whether a crack occurs in at least one of the first and the second insulation films based on the resistance of the thin film resistor.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the thin film resistor overlaps an area where the semiconductor element is disposed.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the substrate has a wiring layer electrically connected to the semiconductor element, and

the thin film resistor is disposed over the wiring layer.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the substrate has a wire bonding portion electrically connected to the semiconductor element, and

the thin film resistor is disposed under the wire bonding portion.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the thin film resistor is disposed near a corner portion of the substrate.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the thin film resistor has a thickness in a range between about 5 nanometers and 500 nanometers.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the thin film resistor has a thickness in a range between about 5 nanometers and 50 nanometers.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein

thin film resistor is made of aluminum, aluminum silicon, aluminum silicon copper, polysilicon, titanium, titanium nitride, tungsten silicide, titanium silicide, chromium, cupper, nickel, cobalt, or gold.

12. A semiconductor device comprising:

a substrate;

a semiconductor element disposed on the substrate;

a first insulation film disposed on the substrate;

a second insulation film disposed on the substrate;

a plurality of thin film resistors disposed between the first and the second insulation films and stacked together to provide a multilayered resistor;

a first electrode pad disposed on one end of multilayered resistor; and

a second electrode pad disposed on the other end of the multilayered resistor,

wherein

the thin film resistors are electrically isolated from each other,

a predetermined voltage is applied to each thin film resistor using the first and the second electrode pads to pass an electric current through the thin film resistors, and

when a crack occurs in at least one of the first and the second insulation films, the thin film resistors are at least partially destroyed so that the amount of the current flowing through the destroyed thin film resistors changes.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein

the second electrode pad is electrically connected to a ground.

14. The device according to claim 12, wherein

the multilayered resistor includes a plurality of line portions to be spaced from each other so that a stripe pattern appears on a surface of the multilayered resistor,

the line portions are merged with each other at both ends of the line potions to connect the first and the second electrode pads, and

when a crack occurs in at least one of the first and the second insulation films, at least one of the line portions is disconnected.

15. The device according to claim 12, wherein

the multilayered resistor overlaps an area where the semiconductor element is disposed.

16. The device according to claim 12, wherein

the substrate has a wiring layer electrically connected to the semiconductor element, and

the multilayered resistor is disposed over the wiring layer.

17. The device according to claim 12, wherein

the substrate has a wire bonding portion electrically connected to the semiconductor element, and

the multilayered resistor is disposed under the wire bonding portion.

18. The device according to claim 12, wherein

the multilayered resistor is disposed near a corner portion of the substrate.

19. The device according to claim 12, wherein

the multilayered resistor has a thickness in a range between about 5 nanometers and 500 nanometers.