Patent ID: 7547572

Claim:
A method of protecting a semiconductor device from damage comprising: providing an active semiconductor device on a surface of the semiconductor substrate where the active semiconductor device is directly surrounded by inactive semiconductor areas; and providing a soft metallic guard ring only in the inactive semiconductor areas around the periphery of the active semiconductor device wherein the soft metallic guard ring is connected to ground potential and not to the active semiconductor device, the soft metallic guard ring being softer than the semiconductor substrate; wherein the active semiconductor device on the surface of the semiconductor substrate further comprises a semiconductor wafer with a plurality of active semiconductor devices wherein each active semiconductor device is separated from other active semiconductor devices of the plurality of active semiconductor devices by inactive areas not containing an active semiconductor device and each active semiconductor device of the plurality of active semiconductor devices is surrounded by a soft metallic guard ring; further comprising separating the wafer into a plurality of die wherein each die of the plurality of die contains a single active semiconductor device with the soft metallic guard ring; further comprising removing a die from the wafer using a pick and place tool such that any mechanical damage to a die caused by the pick and place tool appears as a mark in the soft metallic guard ring and static electricity from the pick and place tool is dissipated to ground potential through the soft metallic guard ring.