A first conductive material having a first hardness is disposed within a recess or opening of a microelectronic component, in a first preselected pattern, and forms a first portion of an interconnect structure. A second conductive material having a second hardness different from the first hardness is disposed within the recess or opening in a second preselected pattern and forms a second portion of the interconnect structure.

An interposer substrate is manufactured with a scribe line between adjacent regions. In an embodiment a separate exposure reticle is utilized to pattern the scribe line. The exposure reticle to pattern the scribe line will create an exposure region which overlaps and overhangs the exposure regions utilized to form adjacent regions.

In a TSC structure, a first dielectric layer is formed over a first main surface of a substrate. The substrate includes an opposing second main surface. A TSC is formed in the first dielectric layer and the substrate so that the TSC passes through the first dielectric layer and extends into the substrate. A conductive plate is formed over the first dielectric layer and electrically coupled with the TSC. An isolation trench is formed in the substrate to surround the conductive plate and spaced apart from the conductive plate. A second dielectric layer is formed on the second main surface of the substrate. A first plurality of vias are formed in the second dielectric layer that extend into the substrate and are connected to the TSC. A second plurality of vias are formed in the second dielectric layer that extend into the substrate and are not connected to the TSC.

Rework and recovery processes generally include application of liquid metal etchant compositions to selectively remove one layer at a time of a solder layer and underball metallurgy multilayer stack including a titanium-based adhesion layer, a copper seed layer, a plated copper conductor layer, and a nickel-based barrier layer. The rework and recovery process can be applied to the dies, wafers, and/or substrate.

Improved bump coplanarity for semiconductor device assemblies, and associated methods and systems are disclosed. In one embodiment, when openings in a passivation layer of a semiconductor device are formed to expose surfaces of bond pads, additional openings may also be formed in the passivation layer. The additional openings may have depths shallower than the openings extending to the surfaces of bond pads by leveraging partial exposures to the passivation layer using a leaky chrome process. Subsequently, when active bumps (pillars) are formed on the exposed surfaces of bond pads, dummy bumps (pillars) may be formed on recessed surfaces of the additional openings such that differences in heights above the surface of the passivation between the active bumps and the dummy bumps are reduced to improve coplanarity.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include interconnect structures and methods of forming interconnect structures. An embodiment is an interconnect structure including a post-passivation interconnect (PPI) over a first substrate and a conductive connector on the PPI. The interconnect structure further includes a molding compound on a top surface of the PPI and surrounding a portion of the conductive connector, a top surface of the molding compound adjoining the conductive connector at an angle from about 10 degrees to about 60 degrees relative to a plane parallel with a major surface of the first substrate, the conductive connector having a first width at the adjoining top surface of the molding compound, and a second substrate over the conductive connector, the second substrate being mounted to the conductive connector.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include interconnect structures and methods of forming interconnect structures. An embodiment is an interconnect structure including a post-passivation interconnect (PPI) over a first substrate and a conductive connector on the PPI. The interconnect structure further includes a molding compound on a top surface of the PPI and surrounding a portion of the conductive connector, a top surface of the molding compound adjoining the conductive connector at an angle from about 10 degrees to about 60 degrees relative to a plane parallel with a major surface of the first substrate, the conductive connector having a first width at the adjoining top surface of the molding compound, and a second substrate over the conductive connector, the second substrate being mounted to the conductive connector.

A connector structure and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The connector structure includes a semiconductor substrate, a metal layer, a passivation layer, and a conductive structure. The metal layer is over the semiconductor substrate. The passivation layer is over the metal layer and includes an opening. The conductive structure is in contact with the metal layer in a patterned surface structure of the conductive structure through the opening of the passivation layer.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: forming a base portion of a bonding pad on a semiconductor portion, the base portion further comprising a base layer; forming a main surface of the bonding pad, the main surface comprising a bonding region; bonding a bond wire or clip to the bonding region; and forming a supplemental structure directly on the base portion. The supplemental structure laterally adjoins the bond wire or clip or is laterally spaced apart from the bond wire or clip. A volume-related specific heat capacity of the supplemental structure is higher than a volume-related specific heat capacity of the base layer.

Embodiments of bonded semiconductor structures and fabrication methods thereof are disclosed. In an example, a semiconductor device includes a first and a second semiconductor structures. The first semiconductor structure includes a first interconnect layer including first interconnects. The first semiconductor structure further includes a first bonding layer including first bonding contacts. Each first interconnect is in contact with a respective first bonding contact. The second semiconductor structure includes a second interconnect layer including second interconnects. The second semiconductor structure further includes a second bonding layer including second bonding contacts. At least one second bonding contact is in contact with a respective second interconnect. At least another second bonding contact is separated from the second interconnects. The semiconductor device further includes a bonding interface between the first and second bonding layers. Each first bonding contact is in contact with one of the second bonding contacts at the bonding interface.