A semiconductor device structure is provided. The semiconductor device structure includes a first polymer layer formed between a first substrate and a second substrate, and a first conductive layer formed over the first polymer. The semiconductor device includes a first through substrate via (TSV) formed over the first conductive layer, and the conductive layer is in direct contact with the first TSV and the first polymer.

In various embodiments, a bonded structure is disclosed. The bonded structure can include an element and a passive electronic component having a first surface bonded to the element and a second surface opposite the first surface. The passive electronic component can comprise a first anode terminal bonded to a corresponding second anode terminal of the element and a first cathode terminal bonded to a corresponding second cathode terminal of the element. The first anode terminal and the first cathode terminal can be disposed on the first surface of the passive electronic component.

A bonded assembly includes a first semiconductor die that includes first metallic bonding structures embedded within a first bonding-level dielectric layer, and a second semiconductor die that includes second metallic bonding structures embedded within a second bonding-level dielectric layer and bonded to the first metallic bonding structures by metal-to-metal bonding. One of the first metallic bonding structures a pad portion, and a via portion located between the pad portion and the first semiconductor device, the via portion having second tapered sidewalls.

A nanowire bonding interconnect for fine-pitch microelectronics is provided. Vertical nanowires created on conductive pads provide a debris-tolerant bonding layer for making direct metal bonds between opposing pads or vias. Nanowires may be grown from a nanoporous medium with a height between 200-1000 nanometers and a height-to-diameter aspect ratio that enables the nanowires to partially collapse against the opposing conductive pads, creating contact pressure for nanowires to direct-bond to opposing pads. Nanowires may have diameters less than 200 nanometers and spacing less than 1 μm from each other to enable contact or direct-bonding between pads and vias with diameters under 5 μm at very fine pitch. The nanowire bonding interconnects may be used with or without tinning, solders, or adhesives. A nanowire forming technique creates a nanoporous layer on conductive pads, creates nanowires within pores of the nanoporous layer, and removes at least part of the nanoporous layer to reveal a layer of nanowires less than 1 μm in height for direct bonding.

A discrete three-dimensional (3-D) processor a plurality of storage-processing units (SPU's), each of which comprises a non-memory circuit and more than one 3-D memory (3D-M) array. The preferred 3-D processor further comprises communicatively coupled first and second dice. The first die comprises the 3D-M arrays and the in-die peripheral-circuit components thereof; whereas, the second die comprises the non-memory circuits and off-die peripheral-circuit components of the 3D-M arrays.

A semiconductor structure, a method for forming a semiconductor structure, a stacked structure, and a wafer stacking method are provided. The semiconductor structure includes: a semiconductor substrate; a first dielectric layer on a surface of a semiconductor substrate; a top metal layer, in which the top metal layer is located in the first dielectric layer, and the top metal layer penetrates through the first dielectric layer; and a buffer layer located between the top metal layer and the first dielectric layer.

A discrete three-dimensional (3-D) processor comprises stacked first and second dice. The first die comprises 3-D memory (3D-M) arrays, whereas the second die comprises logic circuits and at least an off-die peripheral-circuit component of the 3D-M array(s). In one preferred embodiment, the first and second dice are vertically stacked. In another preferred embodiment, the first and second dice are face-to-face bonded.

A bonded assembly includes a first semiconductor die and a second semiconductor die. The first semiconductor die includes first metallic bonding pads embedded in first dielectric material layers, the second semiconductor die includes second metallic bonding pads embedded in second dielectric material layers, the first metallic bonding pads are bonded to a respective one of the second metallic bonding pads; and each of the first metallic bonding pads includes a corrosion barrier layer containing an alloy of a primary bonding metal and at least one corrosion-suppressing element that is different from the primary bonding metal.

A discrete three-dimensional (3-D) processor comprises communicatively coupled first and second dice. The first die comprises memory arrays, whereas the second die comprises at least a non-memory circuit and at least an off-die peripheral-circuit component of the memory arrays. The first and second dice have substantially different structures, more particularly back-end-of-line (BEOL) structures.

A representative device includes a patterned opening through a layer at a surface of a device die. A liner is disposed on sidewalls of the opening and the device die is patterned to extend the opening further into the device die. After patterning, the liner is removed. A conductive pad is formed in the device die by filling the opening with a conductive material.