Patent ID: 8384218

Claim:
A semiconductor device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a front side and a back side, wherein at least said back side is comprised of a semiconductor material; a metallization system formed above said front side, said metallization system providing an electrical connection to at least one circuit element in a device level positioned between said metallization system and said front side; and a metal-containing layer stack formed on said back side, said metal-containing layer stack comprising: an adhesion layer formed directly on said back side semiconductor material; a transition layer formed on said adhesion layer, said adhesion layer and said transition layer comprising a compound that comprises a metal species and at least one non-metal species, wherein said at least one non-metal species comprises oxygen; and a metal layer formed on said transition layer, wherein a material concentration of said at least one non-metal species comprising said transition layer is reduced from a first concentration adjacent to said adhesion layer to a second concentration adjacent to said metal layer, said second concentration being less than said first concentration.