Abstract:
A semiconductor device includes an internal circuit provided on a substrate, a plurality of external terminals connected to the internal circuit, a plurality of wires connecting the internal circuit and the external terminals, and a plurality of inductors communicating with an external device. Each of the inductors is connected to each of the wires. The external terminals are formed in a region not to interrupt communication between the inductors and the external device.

Description:
[0001]    The present application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/292,820, filed on Nov. 26, 2008, which is based on and claims priority from Japanese patent application No. 2007-313821, filed on Dec. 4, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, a method of manufacturing the same, and a signal transmitting/receiving method using the semiconductor device. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    These days, a semiconductor device which communicates data by radio communication is known. 
         [0006]    JP 2007-134694 A describes a semiconductor device which communicates data by electromagnetic induction. The semiconductor device includes a coiled antenna and a semiconductor integrated circuit connected to the coiled antenna. When the coiled antenna connected to a reader/writer is brought close to the semiconductor device, an AC magnetic filed is generated from the coiled antenna connected to the reader/writer. 
         [0007]    The generated AC magnetic field passes through the coiled antenna contained in the semiconductor device, and an electromotive force is generated between terminals of the coiled antenna by electromagnetic induction, whereby the semiconductor integrated circuit contained in the semiconductor device is operated. 
         [0008]    JP 2005-311331 A describes a structure in which an integrated circuit and an antenna are formed on the same substrate, and conductor wires or conductive films forming the antenna are formed in two layers so as to sandwich the substrate including the integrated circuit formed thereon. In JP 2005-311331 A, there is described an example in which the conductor wire formed in one layer serves as an antenna for supplying power to the integrated circuit, and the conductor wire formed in another layer serves as an antenna for transmitting/receiving a signal. 
         [0009]    JP 2005-228785 A describes a structure in which a coiled antenna is disposed outside the profile of a circuit of a semiconductor chip. Further, JP 2005-30877 A describes a technology of mounting a built-in test circuit and a radio communication circuit in a semiconductor integrated circuit device, and controlling the built-in test circuit by a radio signal to run a test. 
         [0010]    The present inventor has recognized as follows. Conventionally, in order to run a test on an internal circuit of a semiconductor device at a wafer level, for example, a pad of a chip surface of the semiconductor device is subjected to probing using a probe to supply the internal circuit with power, or a signal is transmitted/received for observation thereof. There arises a problem in that, for example, damage is caused to the pad by the probe during a probe test, which later leads to a poor connection in the case of bonding the pad, or in that the pad is scraped and small pieces are removed, which causes contamination. Moreover, along with a reduction in chip size and an increase in pads per one chip, a pad size and a pitch between the pads have been reduced, and hence it has become increasingly difficult to realize a sufficient electrical connection through application of a number of probes corresponding to a number of pads. 
         [0011]    In order to avoid the above-mentioned problem, it is desired that power be supplied to the internal circuit or the signal be transmitted/received to/from the internal circuit in a non-contact manner. However, in order to transmit/receive various signals to/from the internal circuit by, for example, electromagnetic induction instead of a plurality of pads to correspond to input/output signals to the plurality of pads, a large number of inductors are necessary, which increases an area required to provide those inductors. As described in JP 2007-134694 A, JP 2005-311331 A, and JP 2005-228785 A, with the structure in which the coiled antenna for transmitting/receiving a signal is arranged on a perimeter of the chip, a number of antennas cannot be arranged. Alternatively, in the technology described in JP 2005-30877 A, it is assumed that only one antenna coil is arranged for one chip, and power is generated using a carrier wave of a radio signal to be input from the outside. On the other hand, for supplying the internal circuit with power, large electromagnetic force is required. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0012]    The present invention provides a semiconductor device, including: 
         [0013]    a semiconductor substrate including a semiconductor chip formation region; 
         [0014]    a chip internal circuit provided within the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate; 
         [0015]    a signal transmitting/receiving unit which is provided within the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate, transmits/receives a signal to/from an outside in a non-contact manner by one of electromagnetic induction and capacitive coupling, and transmits/receives a signal to/from the chip internal circuit through electrical connection to the chip internal circuit; and
       a power receiving inductor which has a diameter provided along an outer edge of the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate so as to surround the chip internal circuit and the signal transmitting/receiving unit, receives a power supply signal from the outside in the non-contact manner, and is electrically connected to the chip internal circuit.       
 
         [0017]    The present invention also provides a signal transmitting/receiving method, including: 
         [0018]    bringing an external device close to a semiconductor device in a non-contact manner,
       the semiconductor device including:
           a semiconductor substrate including a semiconductor chip formation region;   a chip internal circuit provided within the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate;   a signal transmitting/receiving unit which is provided within the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate, and transmits/receives a signal to/from the chip internal circuit through electrical connection to the chip internal circuit; and   a power receiving inductor which has a diameter provided along an outer edge of the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate so as to surround the chip internal circuit and the signal transmitting/receiving unit, and is electrically connected to the chip internal circuit,   
           the external device including:
           a power supply inductor corresponding to the power receiving inductor; and   an external signal transmitting/receiving unit which transmits/receives a signal to/from the signal transmitting/receiving unit in the non-contact manner by one of electromagnetic induction and capacitive coupling; and   
           transmitting/receiving the signal between the external signal transmitting/receiving unit and the signal transmitting/receiving unit, and transmitting/receiving a power supply signal between the power supply inductor and the power receiving inductor.       
 
         [0028]    With the structure described above, the signal transmitting/receiving unit can be formed to be smaller than the power receiving inductor to be provided inside the power receiving inductor, with the result that an increase in chip size can be limited even when a plurality of the signal transmitting/receiving units are arranged. On the other hand, a diameter of the power receiving inductor can be increased, and hence a signal large enough to supply a power supply voltage can be obtained. 
         [0029]    The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, including: 
         [0030]    bringing an external device close to a semiconductor device in a non-contact manner,
       the semiconductor device including:
           a semiconductor substrate including a semiconductor chip formation region and a scribe line region provided around the semiconductor chip formation region;   a chip internal circuit provided within the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate;   a signal transmitting/receiving unit which is provided within the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate and transmits/receives a signal to/from the chip internal circuit through electrical connection to the chip internal circuit;   a power receiving inductor which has a diameter provided along an outer edge of the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate so as to surround the chip internal circuit and the signal transmitting/receiving unit, and is electrically connected to the chip internal circuit;   a bonding pad which is provided in the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate correspondingly to the signal transmitting/receiving unit and is electrically connected to the chip internal circuit; and   a power supply bonding pad provided in the semiconductor chip formation region of the semiconductor substrate while being electrically connected to the chip internal circuit,   
           the external device including:
           a power supply inductor corresponding to the power receiving inductor; and   an external signal transmitting/receiving unit which transmits/receives a signal to/from the signal transmitting/receiving unit in the non-contact manner by one of electromagnetic induction and capacitive coupling;   
           transmitting/receiving the signal between the external signal transmitting/receiving unit and the signal transmitting/receiving unit;       
 
         [0042]    transmitting/receiving a power supply signal between the power supply inductor and the power receiving inductor; 
         [0043]    cutting the semiconductor device along the scribe line region into chips; and connecting, in each of the chips of the semiconductor device, the bonding pad and the power supply bonding pad to the external signal transmitting/receiving unit and an external power supply circuit through a bonding wire, respectively. 
         [0044]    With the structure described above, before the semiconductor substrate is cut into chips, the signal is transmitted/received in the non-contact manner, and at the same time, a power supply voltage can be supplied in the non-contact manner when a test is run at a wafer level. 
         [0045]    It should be noted that a semiconductor device or a method in which the above-mentioned components are appropriately combined or a description of the present invention is changed therebetween is also effective as an aspect of the present invention. 
         [0046]    According to the present invention, the power supply can be made sufficiently in the non-contact manner while limiting an increase in chip size when various signals are transmitted/received in the non-contact manner. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0047]    The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description of certain preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0048]      FIG. 1  is a plan view illustrating a structure of a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0049]      FIG. 2  is a plan view illustrating a structure of a semiconductor chip formation region and a structure of a scribe line region provided around semiconductor chip formation region in detail; 
           [0050]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ of  FIG. 2 ; and 
           [0051]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the semiconductor device and a structure of a tester. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0052]    Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that similar components are denoted by similar reference numerals in the respective drawings, and their descriptions are appropriately omitted. In this embodiment, a description is given of a case where, as an example, when a test is run on a chip internal circuit provided within a semiconductor device at a wafer level, various test signals are transmitted/received to/from an external tester in a non-contact manner, and at the same time, the semiconductor device is supplied with a power supply voltage in the non-contact manner. 
         [0053]      FIG. 1  is a plan view illustrating a structure of a semiconductor device  100  according to this embodiment. 
         [0054]    The semiconductor device  100  includes a semiconductor substrate  101 . A plurality of semiconductor chip formation regions  102  and a scribe line region  104  provided around the semiconductor chip formation regions  102  are formed on a surface of the semiconductor substrate  101 .  FIG. 1  illustrates four semiconductor chip formation regions  102 , and an alignment mark  108  is provided there among in the scribe line region  104 . 
         [0055]      FIG. 2  is a plan view illustrating a structure of one semiconductor chip formation region  102  and a structure of the scribe line region  104  provided around the semiconductor chip formation region  102  in detail. 
         [0056]    The semiconductor device  100  includes a chip internal circuit  124 , a plurality of signal transmitting/receiving inductors  114  (signal transmitting/receiving units), a plurality of bonding pads  118 , a plurality of conversion circuits  116 , a power supply circuit  120 , and a bonding pad  122 , which are each provided within the semiconductor chip formation region  102 . The bonding pad  118  and the bonding pad  122  are pads to be later subjected to wire bonding. 
         [0057]    In a conventional semiconductor device, the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  can be provided in place of a pad which is provided for probing the internal circuit using a probe at a wafer level. Conventionally, when probing is performed using the probe, pad is damaged, and when bonding is performed in the damaged portion, the bonding may cause a poor connection. Therefore, a probing region and a wire-bonding region need to be provided for the pad, and thus the size thereof is increased. In this embodiment, the bonding pad  118  needs to include only the wire-bonding region, whereby the size thereof can be reduced compared with the conventional pad. 
         [0058]    It should be noted that the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  is provided in the vicinity of a surface of the semiconductor device  100  so as to transmit/receive a signal to/from the external device. In addition, the bonding pad  118  is provided in the vicinity of the surface of the semiconductor device  100  so as to be later subjected to wire bonding. On the other hand, the conversion circuit  116  does not need to be provided in the vicinity of the surface of the semiconductor device  100  because the conversion circuit  116  just converts the signal transmitted/received to/from the external device by the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114 . Therefore, the conversion circuit  116  can be provided so as to overlap the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  in a laminating direction of the semiconductor substrate, with the result that an increase in size of the semiconductor device  100  can be limited. 
         [0059]    The conversion circuits  116  are each provided under the signal transmitting/receiving inductors  114  correspondingly to the respective signal transmitting/receiving inductors  114 . The each signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  is electrically connected to the chip internal circuit  124  through the corresponding conversion circuit  116 . The conversion circuit  116  modulates/demodulates the signal transmitted/received between the chip internal circuit  124  and the outside. Moreover, the each bonding pad  118  is electrically connected to the chip internal circuit  124 . 
         [0060]    Further, the semiconductor device  100  includes a seal ring  110  provided on a perimeter portion of the each semiconductor chip formation region  102  and a power receiving inductor  112  provided around the seal ring  110 . The power receiving inductor  112  has a diameter provided along an outer edge of the each semiconductor chip formation region  102  so as to surround the plurality of signal transmitting/receiving inductors  114  and the plurality of bonding pads  118 . The power receiving inductor  112  has one end and another end, which are connected to the power supply circuit  120 . The power supply circuit  120  is, for example, a rectifier circuit. The power receiving inductor  112  is connected to the chip internal circuit  124  through the power supply circuit  120 . The signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  and the power receiving inductor  112  can be formed in a coil shape. 
         [0061]    The bonding pad  122  is electrically connected to the chip internal circuit  124 . The bonding pad  122  is connected to a power supply circuit outside the chip through a bonding wire after the semiconductor device  100  is cut along the scribe line region  104  into chips. Then, power is supplied to the chip internal circuit  124  through the bonding pad  122  from the power supply circuit outside the chip. It should be noted that the bonding pad  122  can also be formed in a smaller size compared with the conventional pad, because it is sufficient that the bonding pad  122  includes only the wire-bonding region. 
         [0062]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ of  FIG. 2 . Here, a structure of a tester  200  which supplies the semiconductor device  100  with a signal is also illustrated. 
         [0063]    The semiconductor device  100  includes the signal transmitting/receiving inductors  114 , the seal ring  110 , and the power receiving inductor  112  within an insulating layer  103  provided on the semiconductor substrate  101 . The tester  200  includes a plurality of signal transmitting/receiving inductors  204  provided at positions corresponding to the signal transmitting/receiving inductors  114  provided within the semiconductor chip formation region  102  of the semiconductor device  100  and a power supply inductor  202  provided correspondingly to the power receiving inductor  112  of the semiconductor device  100 . 
         [0064]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the semiconductor device  100  and the structure of the tester  200 . 
         [0065]    The chip internal circuit  124  can include a plurality of transistors  126  corresponding to the plurality of signal transmitting/receiving inductors  114 . One end of a source and a drain of the each transistor  126  is grounded, and another end thereof is connected to the power supply circuit  120  or the bonding pad  122  through a power supply line  128 . In this case, a back surface of the semiconductor substrate  101  can be grounded so that one end of the transistor  126  is connected to the back surface of the semiconductor substrate  101  to be grounded. Besides, gates of the transistors  126  are each connected to the signal transmitting/receiving inductors  114  through the conversion circuits  116 . Further, the gates of the transistors  126  are each also connected to the bonding pads  118 . It should be noted that an input/output buffer circuit may be inserted between the transistor  126  and the bonding pad  118  or between the transistor  126  and the conversion circuit  116 , which is not illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0066]    Next, an operation when the semiconductor device  100  according to this embodiment receives a signal from the tester  200  is described with reference to  FIG. 2  to  FIG. 4 . 
         [0067]    First, the tester  200  is brought close to any chip of the semiconductor device  100  so that the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  204  and the power supply inductor  202  of the tester  200  are opposed to the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  and the power receiving inductor  112  of the semiconductor device  100 , respectively. Then, the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  204  and the power supply inductor  202  of the tester  200  output, to the semiconductor device  100 , radio waves each having a predetermined frequency. In this case, a test signal and a power supply signal are output from the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  204  and the power supply inductor  202 , respectively. 
         [0068]    The power receiving inductor  112  of the semiconductor device  100  converts the signal output from the power supply inductor  202  into an AC electrical signal. The power supply circuit  120  generates a power supply voltage based on the AC electrical signal converted by the power receiving inductor  112  and supplies the generated power supply voltage to the chip internal circuit  124 . The signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  of the semiconductor device  100  converts the signal output from the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  204  into an AC electrical signal. The conversion circuit  116  demodulates the AC electrical signal converted by the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  and supplies the demodulated AC electrical signal to the chip internal circuit  124 . When a signal is output from the semiconductor device  100  to the tester  200 , the conversion circuit  116  modulates the electrical signal supplied from the chip internal circuit  124  and supplies the modulated electrical signal to the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114 . The signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  outputs the modulated electrical signal as a radio wave to the corresponding signal transmitting/receiving inductor  204  of the tester  200 . Accordingly, data is transmitted/received and power is supplied between the semiconductor device  100  and the tester  200 . 
         [0069]    In this embodiment, the diameter of the power receiving inductor  112  can be increased, whereby a signal large enough to supply the power supply voltage can be obtained. Moreover, the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  is formed to be smaller than the power receiving inductor  112  so that the signal transmitting/receiving inductor  114  is included within the power receiving inductor  112 , and thus an increase in size thereof can be limited even if a plurality of signal transmitting/receiving units are provided. 
         [0070]    Further, in this embodiment, the power receiving inductor  112  is provided around the seal ring  110 , and hence the power receiving inductor  112  can be caused to function as a chipping stop layer when wafer dicing is performed along the scribe line region  104 . In addition, the power receiving inductor  112  can be used as a chipping sensor for detecting an occurrence of chipping in the semiconductor chip. 
         [0071]    The embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings, which is an example of the present invention, and various structures other than the above-mentioned structure can also be adopted. 
         [0072]    In the embodiment described above, the case where the signal transmitting/receiving unit serves as an inductor has been described as an example. However, the signal transmitting/receiving unit may serve as a capacitor, and data may be transmitted/received to/from an external device such as the tester  200  by capacitive coupling. 
         [0073]    Further, in the embodiment described above, the description has been made of the case where various test signals are transmitted/received in a non-contact manner to/from the external tester when a test is run on the chip internal circuit of the semiconductor device at the wafer level. However, the present invention can also be applied to a case where various signals are transmitted/received in the non-contact manner after the semiconductor substrate is cut into chips. Moreover, the power receiving inductor  112  may be provided within the seal ring  110 . 
         [0074]    It is apparent that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but may be modified and changed without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.