Apparatuses and methods including structures in scribe regions of semiconductor devices
An apparatus includes a scribe region between a first die and a second die adjacent to each other in a first direction, the scribe region including a first crack stop region and a second crack stop region extending in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the first and second dies are to be separated along a scribe line between the first and second crack stop regions, and a first structure in each of the first and second crack stop regions, the first structure including a plurality of first metal lines arranged in a hexagonal array in a plane defined by the first and second directions.
1 . An apparatus comprising:
a scribe region between a first die and a second die adjacent to each other in a first direction, the scribe region comprising a first crack stop region and a second crack stop region extending in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the first and second dies are to be separated along a scribe line between the first and second crack stop regions;
a first structure in each of the first and second crack stop regions, the first structure comprising a plurality of first metal lines arranged in a hexagonal array in a plane defined by the first and second directions; and
a second structure between the first crack stop region and the second crack stop region, the second structure comprising a plurality of second metal lines extending in the second direction, along the scribe line parallel to the first and second crack stop regions to guide a force due to dicing to propagate along the plurality of second metal lines,
wherein a width of the second structure is greater than a width of a laser beam used in dicing,
wherein the second structure is configured to collapse to absorb the force due to dicing, and
wherein the first structure in the first crack stop region and the first structure in the second crack stop region are separated along the scribe line by the second structure.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first structure further comprises:
a plurality of vias, wherein each of the plurality of vias connects two of the plurality of first metal lines.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of first metal lines comprises copper (Cu) or aluminum (Al).
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
each of the plurality of first metal lines has a width of between 0.05 μm and 0.2 μm.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
each hexagon in the hexagonal array has a unit cell length of between 0.1 μm and 3 μm.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the first structure comprises one or more insulating films encapsulating the plurality of first metal lines.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second structures are formed on a Si wafer.
8 . An apparatus comprising:
a scribe region between a first die and a second die adjacent to each other in a first direction, the scribe region comprising a first crack stop region and a second crack stop region extending in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the first and second dies are to be separated along a scribe line between the first and second crack stop regions;
a first structure in each of the first and second crack stop regions, the first structure comprising a plurality of first metal lines, wherein at least two of metal lines of the plurality of first metal lines are arranged in a direction between the first and second directions in a plane defined by the first and second directions; and
a second structure between the first crack stop region and the second crack stop region, the second structure comprising a plurality of second metal lines extending in the second direction along the scribe line parallel to the first and second crack stop regions to guide a force due to dicing to propagate along the plurality of second metal lines,
wherein a width of the second structure is greater than a width of a laser beam used in dicing,
wherein the second structure is configured to collapse to absorb the force due to dicing, and
wherein the first structure in the first crack stop region and the first structure in the second crack stop region are separated along the scribe line by the second structure.
9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the first structure further comprises
a plurality of vias, wherein each of the plurality of vias connects two of the plurality of first metal lines.
10 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein
the plurality of first metal lines comprise copper (Cu) or aluminum (Al).
11 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of first metal lines arranged in a hexagonal array in the plane defined by the first and second directions.
12 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of first metal lines comprises metal lines extending in the second direction and metal line segments that extend in directions that are ±45 degrees off the second direction, each metal line segments adjoining two adjacent metal lines.
13 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the first structure is formed on a Si wafer.