Patent ID: 6913953

Claim:
A method for forming a fuse area of a semiconductor device having multi-level interconnect wirings including a lowermost wiring and an uppermost wiring, a fuse opening portion formed for cutting a fuse line, and a guard ring surrounding the fuse opening portion, the method comprising: forming first and second etch stop layer patterns over the fuse line, wherein the first etch stop layer pattern extends underneath a first region where the guard ring is to be formed, and the second etch stop layer pattern extends underneath a second region where the fuse opening portion is to be formed, and wherein the first and second etch stop layer patterns are arranged on the same plane; forming a multi-layer interlayer insulating layer structure on a substrate including the etch stop layer patterns, the multi-layer insulating layer structure including a lowermost insulating layer and an uppermost insulating layer; etching the multi-layer insulating layer structure until the first etch stop layer pattern is exposed so as to form a guard ring opening portion surrounding the fuse opening portion; and forming the guard ring by filling the guard ring opening portion with a predetermined material, wherein the guard ring opening portion extends substantially vertically from the first etch stop layer pattern to the upper surface of the multi-layer insulating layer structure.