Patent ID: 8847393

Claim:
A semiconductor device comprising: a first layer including a plurality of electrically conductive wires; a second layer including a plurality of electrically conductive wires; a non-conductive material between the first layer and the second layer; a first electrically conductive via through the non-conductive material connecting the first and second layers at an intersection of a first wire on the first layer and a first wire on the second layer at a location where a redundant via is not possible; and a second electrically conductive via coupled between a second wire on the second layer to a conductive member that is electrically isolated from wires in any other layer of the semiconductor device and sufficiently close to the first electrically conductive via to provide protection to the first electrically conductive via from outgassing problems; wherein the wires in the first and second layers are smaller than wires that conduct power and ground signals in the semiconductor device.