Patent ID: 7023067

Claim:
A bonding pad for an integrated circuit, where the bonding pad overlies a fragile dielectric layer, the bonding pad comprising: a lower metal layer stack overlying the fragile dielectric layer, where the lower metal layer stack forms voids extending into the lower metal layer stack from an upper surface of the lower metal layer stack, the voids defining protrusions in the upper surface of the lower metal layer stack, where the voids in the lower metal layer stack do not extend completely through the lower metal layer stack, a hard dielectric layer overlying the lower metal layer stack, including the protrusions of the lower metal layer stack, the hard dielectric layer filling the voids of the lower metal layer stack but not disposed within an interior portion of the protrusions of the lower metal layer stack, the protrusions of the lower metal layer stack for at least partially arresting cracks in the hard dielectric layer, an upper metal layer stack overlying the hard dielectric layer, where the upper metal layer stack forms voids extending into the upper metal layer stack from an exposed upper surface of the upper metal layer stack, the voids defining deformable protrusions in the exposed upper surface of the upper metal layer stack for at least partially absorbing forces applied to the bonding pad during a bonding operation, where the voids in the upper metal layer stack do not extend completely through the upper metal layer stack, and no solid material is disposed between the deformable protrusions of the upper metal layer stack, and electrically conductive vias extending from the lower metal layer stack through the hard dielectric layer to the upper metal layer stack and electrically connecting the lower metal layer stack to the upper metal layer stack, where, neither the lower metal layer stack nor the upper metal layer stack include any electrically conductive vias or layers in which electrically conductive vias reside, and the electrically conductive vias between the lower metal layer stack and the upper metal layer stack are disposed exclusively between an upper most surface of the protrusions of the lower metal layer stack and a lower most surface of the upper metal layer stack, and the upper most surface of the protrusions of the lower metal layer stack do not physically contact the upper metal layer stack.