Patent Description:
When a wafer is diced, a dicing mode of a dicing street may generate a certain mechanical stress on front and back surfaces of the wafer, which may cause chippings at an edge of a chip. The problem of chippings may reduce a mechanical strength of the chip, and an initial chip edge crack may be further spread in later packaging process or in the use of chip products, which may likely cause cracking of the chip, thus leading to failure of electrical properties of the chip. To protect internal circuits of the chip, prevent scratch damage, and improve reliability of the chip, a semiconductor structure such as a seal ring generally is designed at the periphery of the chip. Moreover, the seal ring structure also is capable of resisting gas and liquid erosion, which can prevent water vapor or other chemical contamination sources from permeating the chip to avoid causing damage to the chip.

At present, as sizes of semiconductor devices continue to decrease, roles of the seal ring at the periphery of the chip are becoming more and more important. However, the existing sealing rings are unable to provide better protection to the chip due to their poor stability and smaller interception area, and can no longer meet the requirements for protection of the chip.

Background may be found in <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>. <CIT>, in particular, discloses a semiconductor structure according to the precharacterizing part of claim <NUM>.

The present application is defined in appended independent claims <NUM> and <NUM> to which reference should be made.

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the existing technologies more clearly, the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments or the existing technologies will be briefly introduced below. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure. To those of ordinary skills in the art, other accompanying drawings may also be derived from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

For ease of understanding the present disclosure, the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are provided in the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be more thorough and complete.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms employed herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. The terms employed in the specification of the present disclosure are merely for the purpose of describing some embodiments and are not intended for limiting the present disclosure.

It should be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "on", "adjacent to", "connected to" or "coupled to" other elements or layers, it may be directly on, adjacent to, connected or coupled to the other elements or layers, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on", "directly adjacent to", "directly connected to" or "directly coupled to" other elements or layers, there are no intervening elements or layers present. It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be employed to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, doping types and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, doping types and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only employed to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, doping type, or section from another element, component, region, layer, doping type, or section. Thus, without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure, a first element, component, region, layer, doping type or portion discussed below may be represented as a second element, component, region, layer or portion. For example, a first doping type may be a second doping type, and similarly, the second doping type may be the first doping type. Furthermore, the first doping type and the second doping type may be different doping types. For example, the first doping type may be a P type and the second doping type may be an N type, or the first doping type may be the N type and the second doping type may be the P type.

Spatially relative terms such as "below", "under", "lower", "beneath", "above", "upper" and the like may be used herein to describe relationships between one element or feature as shown in the figures and another element(s) or feature(s). It should be understood that the spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of a device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements or features described as "under", "beneath" or "below" other elements would then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the example term "under", "below" or "beneath" may encompass both an orientation of above and below. In addition, the device may also be otherwise oriented (for example, rotated <NUM> degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially descriptors used herein should be interpreted accordingly.

As used herein, the singular forms of "a", "one" and "said/the" are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "comprising" and/or "including", when used in this specification, may determine the presence of the described features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Meanwhile, as used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of related listed items.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to cross-sectional illustrations serving as schematic illustrations of embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the present disclosure. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, may be expected. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but may include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing technologies. Thus, regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes do not necessarily illustrate the actual shape of a region of the device and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

With reference to <FIG>, an example useful for understanding the present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure, wherein the method includes following steps:.

The sealing ring structure <NUM> comprises a first subportion <NUM>, a second subportion <NUM> and a third subportion <NUM> stacked in sequence. The functional structure <NUM> comprises a fourth subportion <NUM> and a fifth subportion <NUM> stacked in sequence. A total height of the first subportion <NUM>, the second subportion <NUM> and the third subportion <NUM> is equal to a total height of the fourth subportion <NUM> and the fifth subportion <NUM>.

The semiconductor structure formed by means of the method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure provided in the above example has a more stable structure, has a larger interception area, provides better protection to the chip, and has a simpler technological process.

The substrate may include, but is not limited to, a silicon substrate The substrate may also be a gallium nitride substrate, an indium phosphide substrate, or a sapphire substrate, etc..

Before Step S2, the method may include:
forming a bottom-layer dielectric layer <NUM> on the peripheral region and the chip region of the substrate, as shown in <FIG>.

It is to be noted that the bottom-layer dielectric layer <NUM> may be formed on the substrate, as shown in <FIG>, a bottom-layer metal layer <NUM> and an interconnection structure <NUM> are formed in the bottom-layer dielectric layer <NUM>. In some embodiments, in one embodiment, a through hole is respectively formed in the peripheral region and the chip region of the bottom-layer dielectric layer <NUM>, and the interconnection structure <NUM> and the bottom-layer metal layer <NUM> are stacked sequentially from bottom to top in the through hole.

The interconnection structure <NUM> may be a single-layer structure, a stacked-layer structure or other structure, but the interconnection structure <NUM> in this example is not limited thereto. A material of the interconnection structure <NUM> may comprise one or more of titanium, titanium nitride, or tungsten, etc. This example does not limit the material of the interconnection structure <NUM>. The interconnection structure <NUM> includes a conductive metal and a barrier layer, wherein the conductive metal may include, but is not limited to, tungsten, ruthenium, and the like, and the barrier layer may include, but is not limited to, titanium nitride, titanium, and the like.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, Step S2 includes:
forming a first dielectric layer <NUM> on the peripheral region and the chip region of the bottom-layer dielectric layer <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>.

For Step S3, as shown in <FIG>, in one embodiment, Step S3 may include following steps:.

According to embodiments of the invention, the width of the first opening <NUM> is the same as that of the fourth opening <NUM>, and the width of the second opening <NUM> is the same as that of the fifth opening <NUM>.

Further, in one embodiment, an opening depth of the first opening <NUM> is the same as that of the fourth opening <NUM>, and an opening depth of the second opening <NUM> is the same as that of the fifth opening <NUM>.

In one embodiment, the opening depth of the first opening <NUM> is greater than that of the second opening <NUM>, and the opening depth of the second opening <NUM> is greater than that of the third opening <NUM>.

According to embodiments of the invention, the width of the first opening <NUM> is less than that of the second opening <NUM>, the width of the second opening <NUM> is less than that of the third opening <NUM>, and the width of the fourth opening <NUM> is less than that of the fifth opening <NUM>.

According to embodiments of the invention, a total depth of the first opening <NUM>, the second opening <NUM> and the third opening <NUM> is the same as a total depth of the fourth opening <NUM> and the fifth opening <NUM>.

The electrically conductive material in the first opening <NUM> is the first subportion <NUM>, the electrically conductive material in the second opening <NUM> is the second subportion <NUM>, the electrically conductive material in the third opening <NUM> is the third subportion <NUM>, the electrically conductive material in the fourth opening <NUM> is the fourth subportion <NUM>, and the electrically conductive material in the fifth opening <NUM> is the fifth subportion <NUM>.

In some embodiments, in one embodiment, the material of the sealing ring structure <NUM> may include, but is not limited to, copper.

In some embodiments, the electrically conductive material may be copper, and an initial copper layer is formed simultaneously, by means of electroplating, in the first opening <NUM>, the second opening <NUM>, the third opening <NUM>, the fourth opening <NUM>, the fifth opening <NUM>, and the first dielectric layer <NUM>. Next, the initial copper layer above the first dielectric layer <NUM> is removed by means of chemical mechanical grinding to form the sealing ring structure <NUM> and the functional structure <NUM> respectively. as shown in <FIG>. The sealing ring structure <NUM> may be formed separately in a copper-metal interconnection layer to enhance the protective effect of a copper-metal protection ring while saving production costs.

The first dielectric layer <NUM> formed is a single-layer structure, and the sealing ring structure <NUM> formed includes N subportions stacked sequentially, wherein N is an integer greater than <NUM>.

According to embodiments of the invention, the first dielectric layer <NUM> is a single-layer structure. In one embodiment, the first dielectric layer <NUM> may be a silicon nitride layer and a silicon oxide layer stacked sequentially from bottom to top, and the sealing ring structure <NUM> formed is positioned in the silicon oxide layer.

The semiconductor structure formed by means of the method for manufacturing g a semiconductor structure provided in the above embodiment has more subportions, which increases its interception area and further enhances the protection of this structure for the chip.

In one embodiment, in a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate, widths of the N subportions stacked in sequence are sequentially increased.

The semiconductor structure formed by means of the method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure provided in the above embodiment has N subportions stacked in sequence, and the widths of the N subportions are sequentially increased, to ensure the structure to be more stable.

In one embodiment, after Step S3, the method may also include:
S4: forming a second dielectric layer <NUM> on the first dielectric layer <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>.

In one embodiment, the second dielectric layer <NUM> is a single-layer structure. In other embodiments, the second dielectric layer <NUM> may also be a stacked-layer structure. This embodiment does not limit the structure and arrangement of the second dielectric layer <NUM>. In one embodiment, the second dielectric layer <NUM> may include one or more of a silicon nitride layer, a silicon oxide layer, and so on. This embodiment does not limit the material of the second dielectric layer <NUM>. In some embodiments, in one embodiment, the second dielectric layer <NUM> may be the silicon nitride layer and the silicon oxide layer stacked sequentially from bottom to top.

In one embodiment, after Step S4, the method may further comprise:.

In one embodiment, after Step S6, the method may further include:
S7: forming a top-layer interconnection structure <NUM> in the sixth opening <NUM> and the seventh opening <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>.

In one embodiment, the top-layer interconnection structure <NUM> may be a single-layer structure, a stacked-layer structure, or other structure, and this embodiment does not limit the structure and arrangement of the top-layer interconnection structure <NUM>. In one embodiment, a material of the top-layer interconnection structure <NUM> may include one or more of aluminum, titanium, titanium nitride, or tungsten, etc. However, this embodiment does not limit the material of the top-layer interconnection structure <NUM>. In one embodiment, the top-layer interconnection structure <NUM> includes a titanium layer and a tungsten layer stacked sequentially from bottom to top.

In one embodiment, after Step S7, the method may further comprise:
S8: forming a top-layer metal material layer <NUM> on the second dielectric layer <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>.

In one embodiment, the top-layer metal material layer <NUM> formed is a single-layer structure or a stacked-layer structure, and this embodiment does not limit the structure and arrangement of the top-layer metal material layer <NUM>. In one embodiment, the top-layer metal material layer <NUM> may comprise a stacked-layer structure where the titanium layer and the aluminum layer are alternately stacked in sequence or a stacked-layer structure where the titanium nitride layer and the aluminum layer are alternately stacked in sequence, and a bottom layer and a top layer of the top-layer metal material layer are both the titanium layers or the titanium nitride layers.

In one embodiment, after Step S8, the method may further comprise:
S9: etching the top-layer metal material layer <NUM> to form a top-layer metal layer <NUM> and expose a portion of the second dielectric layer <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>.

In one embodiment, after Step S9, the method may further comprise:
S10: forming a top-layer dielectric layer <NUM> over the second dielectric layer <NUM> and the top-layer metal layer <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>.

In one embodiment, the top-layer dielectric layer <NUM> formed may be a single-layer structure or a stacked-layer structure, and this embodiment does not limit the structure of the top-layer dielectric layer <NUM>. In some embodiments, in one embodiment, the top-layer dielectric layer <NUM> may be a silicon oxide layer and a silicon nitride layer stacked sequentially from bottom to top.

It should be understood that although the steps in the flow diagrams of <FIG> and <FIG> are shown sequentially as indicated by the arrows, these steps are not necessarily performed sequentially in the order indicated by the arrows. It should be understood that unless expressly stated herein, the execution of these steps is not strictly limited in sequence, and these steps may be performed in other orders. Moreover, at least some of the steps in <FIG> and <FIG> may include a plurality of steps or a plurality of stages, which are not necessarily performed at the same moment, but may be executed at different moments, and the order of execution of these steps or stages is not necessarily performed sequentially, but may be performed alternately or alternately with at least a portion of the steps or stages of other steps or other steps.

With continued reference to <FIG>, the present disclosure provides a semiconductor structure, comprising:.

The semiconductor structure provided by the above embodiment has a more stable structure, has a larger interception area, and provides better protection to a chip.

In one embodiment, the substrate may include, but is not limited to, a silicon substrate. In other embodiments, the substrate may also be a gallium nitride substrate, an indium phosphide substrate, or a sapphire substrate, etc..

In one embodiment, the bottom-layer dielectric layer <NUM> is formed on the substrate, the first dielectric layer <NUM> is formed on the peripheral region and the chip region of the bottom-layer dielectric layer <NUM>, and the bottom-layer metal layer <NUM> and the interconnection structure <NUM> are formed in the bottom-layer dielectric layer <NUM>. In some embodiments, in one embodiment, a through hole is respectively formed in the peripheral region and the chip region of the bottom-layer dielectric layer <NUM>, and the interconnection structure <NUM> and the bottom-layer metal layer <NUM> are stacked sequentially from bottom to top in the through hole.

According to embodiments of the invention, the interconnection structure <NUM> is a stacked-layer structure <NUM>. In one embodiment, a material of the interconnection structure <NUM> may include one or more of titanium, titanium nitride, or tungsten, etc. This embodiment does not limit the material of the interconnection structure <NUM>. In one embodiment, the interconnection structure <NUM> comprises a conductive metal and a barrier layer, wherein the conductive metal comprises tungsten, ruthenium, and the like, and the barrier layer comprises titanium nitride, titanium, and the like.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the first dielectric layer <NUM>, in which the sealing ring and functional structures are positioned, is a single-layer structure. In other embodiments, the first dielectric layer <NUM> may also be a stacked-layer structure. For example, and without limiting the material of the first dielectric layer, the first dielectric layer <NUM> may include one or more of a silicon nitride layer, a silicon oxide layer, and so on. In one embodiment, the first dielectric layer <NUM> may be the silicon nitride layer and the silicon oxide layer stacked sequentially from bottom to top, and the sealing ring structure <NUM> formed is positioned in the silicon oxide layer.

According to embodiments of the invention, in a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate, the width of the second subportion <NUM> is greater than that of the first subportion <NUM>, and in a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate, the width of the third subportion <NUM> is greater than that of the second subportion <NUM>.

The width of the first subportion <NUM> is the same as that of the fourth subportion <NUM>, and the width of the second subportion <NUM> is the same as that of the fifth subportion <NUM>.

The first subportion <NUM>, the second subportion <NUM>, and the third subportion <NUM> are integrally formed. The fourth subportion <NUM> and the fifth subportion <NUM> are integrally formed.

In one embodiment, the sealing ring structure <NUM> includes N subportions stacked sequentially, wherein N is an integer greater than <NUM>.

The semiconductor structure provided in the above embodiment has more subportions, which further increases the interception area and further enhances the protection of this structure for the chip.

In one embodiment, widths of the N subportions stacked in sequence are sequentially increased.

The semiconductor structure provided in the above embodiment has N subportions stacked in sequence, and the widths of the N subportions are sequentially increased, to ensure the structure to be more stable.

In some embodiments, in one embodiment, the first subportion <NUM>, the second subportion <NUM>, and the third subportion <NUM> are all annular wall structures. The fourth subportion <NUM> is a conductive plug structure, and the fifth subportion <NUM> is a conductive wire structure.

In one embodiment, the semiconductor structure further comprises a bottom metal layer positioned below the sealing ring structure <NUM>. In some embodiments, the material of the bottom-layer metal layer may include, but is not limited to, tungsten.

With continued reference to <FIG>, in one embodiment, the semiconductor structure further comprises:
a second dielectric layer <NUM> arranged on the first dielectric layer <NUM>.

In one embodiment, the second dielectric layer <NUM> is a single-layer structure. In other embodiments, the first dielectric layer <NUM> may also be a stacked-layer structure. This embodiment does not limit the structure and arrangement of the second dielectric layer <NUM>. In one embodiment, the second dielectric layer <NUM> may include one or more of a silicon nitride layer, a silicon oxide layer, and so on. This embodiment does not limit the material of the second dielectric layer <NUM>. In some embodiments, in one embodiment, the second dielectric layer <NUM> may be the silicon nitride layer and the silicon oxide layer stacked sequentially from bottom to top.

Referring to <FIG>, in one embodiment, the semiconductor structure further comprises:.

In one embodiment, the top-layer interconnection structure <NUM> may be a single-layer structure, a stacked-layer structure, or other structure, and this embodiment does not limit the structure and arrangement of the top-layer interconnection structure <NUM>. In one embodiment, a material of the top-layer interconnection structure <NUM> may include one or more of titanium, titanium nitride, or tungsten, etc. However, this embodiment does not limit the material of the top-layer interconnection structure <NUM>. In one embodiment, the top-layer interconnection structure <NUM> includes a titanium layer and a tungsten layer stacked sequentially from bottom to top.

With continued reference to <FIG>, in one embodiment, the semiconductor structure further comprises:
a top-layer metal layer <NUM> arranged on an upper surface of the second dielectric layer <NUM>.

In one embodiment, the top-layer metal layer <NUM> is a single-layer structure or a stacked-layer structure, and this embodiment does not limit the structure and arrangement of the top-layer metal layer <NUM>. In one embodiment, the top-layer metal material layer <NUM> may comprise a stacked-layer structure where the titanium layer and the aluminum layer are alternately stacked in sequence or a stacked-layer structure where the titanium nitride layer and the aluminum layer are alternately stacked in sequence, and a bottom layer and a top layer of the top-layer metal material layer are both the titanium layers or the titanium nitride layers.

With continued reference to <FIG>, in one embodiment, the semiconductor structure further comprises:
a top-layer dielectric layer <NUM> arranged on the upper surface of the second dielectric layer <NUM> and the upper surface of the top-layer metal layer <NUM>.

Technical features of the above embodiments may be combined. For simplicity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described. However, as long as the combination of these technical features is not contradictory, it shall be deemed to be within the scope recorded in this specification, which is defined solely by the appended claims.

Claim 1:
A semiconductor structure, comprising:
a substrate, the substrate comprising a peripheral region and a chip region;
a first dielectric layer(<NUM>) positioned on the peripheral region and the chip region of the substrate; and
a sealing ring structure(<NUM>) and a functional structure(<NUM>) respectively positioned in the first dielectric layer(<NUM>) on the peripheral region and in the first dielectric layer(<NUM>) on the chip region;
wherein the sealing ring structure and the functional structure are formed by electrically conductive material;
wherein the sealing ring structure(<NUM>) comprises a first subportion(<NUM>), a second subportion(<NUM>) and a third subportion(<NUM>) stacked in sequence, the functional structure(<NUM>) comprising a fourth subportion(<NUM>) and a fifth subportion(<NUM>) stacked in sequence, a total height of the first subportion(<NUM>), the second subportion(<NUM>) and the third subportion(<NUM>) being equal to a total height of the fourth subportion(<NUM>) and the fifth subportion(<NUM>);
characterized in that, in a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate, a width of the second subportion(<NUM>) is greater than a width of the first subportion(<NUM>); and
in a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate, a width of the third subportion(<NUM>) is greater than the width of the second subportion(<NUM>);
in a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate, the width of the first subportion(<NUM>) is equal to a width of the fourth subportion(<NUM>); and
in a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate, the width of the second subportion(<NUM>) is equal to a width of the fifth subportion(<NUM>);
the first subportion(<NUM>), the second subportion(<NUM>) and the third subportion(<NUM>) are integrally formed; and
the fourth subportion(<NUM>) and the fifth subportion(<NUM>) are integrally formed and
the first dielectric layer(<NUM>) is a single-layer structure.