Substrate contact and method of forming the same

摘要

A substrate contact and semiconductor chip, and methods of forming the same. The substrate contact is employable with a semiconductor chip formed from a semiconductor substrate and includes a seal ring region about a periphery of an integrated circuit region. In one embodiment, the substrate contact includes a contact trench extending through a shallow trench isolation region and an insulator overlying the semiconductor substrate and outside the integrated circuit region. The contact trench is substantially filled with a conductive material thereby allowing the semiconductor substrate to be electrically connected with a metal interconnect within the seal ring region.