A stacked semiconductor device encompasses a mother-plate having a mounting-main surface and a bottom-main surface, an onboard-element having a connection face facing to the mounting-main surface, a parent bump provided on the mother-plate, having a mother-site wall made of a layer of conductor, mother-site wall is perpendicular to the mounting-main surface, and a repair bump provided on the onboard-element at a side of the connection face, having a repair-site wall made of a layer of conductor having different hardness from the mother-site wall, the repair-site wall is perpendicular to the connection face, configure to bite each other with the parent bump at an intersection between the mother-site wall and the repair-site wall conductor.

In an embodiment, a method includes: stacking a plurality of first dies to form a device stack; revealing testing pads of a topmost die of the device stack; testing the device stack using the testing pads of the topmost die; and after testing the device stack, forming bonding pads in the topmost die, the bonding pads being different from the testing pads.

Sacrificial pillars for a semiconductor device assembly, and associated methods and systems are disclosed. In one embodiment, a region of a semiconductor die may be identified to include sacrificial pillars that are not connected to bond pads of the semiconductor die, in addition to live conductive pillars connected to the bond pads. The region with the sacrificial pillars, when disposed in proximity to the live conductive pillars, may prevent an areal density of the live conductive pillars from experiencing an abrupt change that may result in intolerable variations in heights of the live conductive pillars. As such, the sacrificial pillars may improve a coplanarity of the live conductive pillars by reducing variations in the heights of the live conductive pillars. Thereafter, the sacrificial pillars may be removed from the semiconductor die.

A release layer is formed on a surface of an integrated circuit wafer. The surface is passivated and includes metal contact materials. A stress-engineered film having an intrinsic stress profile is deposited over the release layer. The stress-engineered film is patterned and the release layer is undercut etched so that a released portion of the patterned stress-engineered film is released from the surface while leaving an anchor portion fixed to the surface. The intrinsic stress profile in the stress-engineered film biases the released portion away from the surface. The released portion is placed entirely within an area defined by the metal contact material.

An electronic assembly and methods of making the assembly are disclosed. The electronic assembly includes a substrate with an elastic member having an intrinsic stress profile. The elastic member has an anchor portion on the surface of the substrate; and a free end biased away from the substrate via the intrinsic stress profile to form an out of plane structure. The substrate includes one or more spacers on the substrate. The electronic assembly includes a chip comprising contact pads. The out of plane structure on the substrate touches corresponding contact pads on the chip, and the spacers on the substrate touch the chip forming a gap between the substrate and the chip.

Disclosed embodiments include a semiconductor chip including a semiconductor substrate having a top surface with a top connection pad disposed therein, and a protection insulation layer comprising an opening therein, the protection insulation layer not covering at least a portion of the top connection pad, on the semiconductor substrate. The protection insulation layer may include: a bottom protection insulation layer, a cover insulation layer comprising a side cover part that covers at least a portion of a side surface of the bottom protection insulation layer and a top cover part disposed apart from the side cover part to cover at least a portion of a top surface of the bottom protection insulation layer. The protection insulation layer may further include a top protection insulation layer on the top cover part.

In the semiconductor device, a semiconductor substrate has first and second surfaces. A circuitry layer is formed over the first surface and a first insulating layer is further formed over the circuitry layer. A second insulating layer including a first insulating element is formed over the second surface. A third insulating layer including a second insulating element different from the first insulating element of the second insulating layer is formed over the second surface with an intervention of the second insulating layer therebetween. A penetration electrode penetrates through the semiconductor substrate, the circuitry layer, the first insulating layer, the second insulating layer and the third insulating layer.

A microelectronic assembly includes a first substrate having a surface and a first conductive element and a second substrate having a surface and a second conductive element. The assembly further includes an electrically conductive alloy mass joined to the first and second conductive elements. First and second materials of the alloy mass each have a melting point lower than a melting point of the alloy. A concentration of the first material varies in concentration from a relatively higher amount at a location disposed toward the first conductive element to a relatively lower amount toward the second conductive element, and a concentration of the second material varies in concentration from a relatively higher amount at a location disposed toward the second conductive element to a relatively lower amount toward the first conductive element.

A bump structure with a barrier layer, and a method for manufacturing the bump structure, are provided. In some embodiments, the bump structure comprises a conductive pad, a conductive bump, and a barrier layer. The conductive pad comprises a pad material. The conductive bump overlies the conductive pad, and comprises a lower bump layer and an upper bump layer covering the lower bump layer. The barrier layer is configured to block movement of the pad material from the conductive pad to the upper bump layer along sidewalls of the lower bump layer. In some embodiments, the barrier layer is a spacer lining the sidewalls of the lower bump layer. In other embodiments, the barrier layer is between the barrier layer and the conductive pad, and spaces the sidewalls of the lower bump layer from the conductive pad.

Methods of forming supports for 3D structures on semiconductor structures comprise forming the supports from photodefinable materials by deposition, selective exposure and curing. Semiconductor dice including 3D structures having associated supports, and semiconductor devices are also disclosed.