Patent ID: 7663159

Claim:
An integrated circuit device, the device comprising: a substrate, the substrate having a first edge and a second edge, the first edge and the second edge being intersecting edges of the substrate; an active circuit area; a single low-k dielectric layer overlying the substrate; a seal ring disposed entirely in the single low-k dielectric layer, the seal ring being a hexagon shape surrounding the active circuit area as a protective boundary, the hexagon shape having a straight side extending entirely from a portion of the first edge to a portion of the second edge; and at least one corner area deposited in the single low-k dielectric layer and outside the seal ring, the at least one corner area comprising a plurality of corner band stacks, the plurality of corner band stacks separated from each other by one or more low-k dielectric bands that are formed from the single low-k dielectric layer, wherein each of the plurality of corner band stacks is oriented at about a predetermined angle and extends from the first edge to the second edge, the first edge including a first sawing trace and the second edge including a second sawing trace, wherein if a structural fault in the at least one corner area occurs, the structural fault is predisposed to extend at about the predetermined angle.