Maschoff Brennan
Semiconductor device with self-protecting fuse and method of fabricating the same
A semiconductor device with the metal fuse is provided. The metal fuse connects an electronic component (e.g., a transistor) and a existing dummy feature which is grounded. The protection of the metal fuse can be designed to start at the beginning of the metallization formation processes. The grounded dummy feature provides a path for the plasma charging to the ground during the entire back end of the line process. The metal fuse is a process level protection as opposed to the diode, which is a circuit level protection. As a process level protection, the metal fuse protects subsequently-formed circuitry. In addition, no additional active area is required for the metal fuse in the chip other than internal dummy patterns that are already implemented.
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
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Ying-Chieh Chin-Chia Gwo-Chyuan Chen-Chung Yi-Ruei Bor-Zen Han-Wei Che-Chia Yen-Ming Kang-Min
Liao Chang Kuoh Lai Lin Tien Yang Hsu Peng Kuo