SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE COMPRISING AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROVIDED WITH A CERAMIC SECURITY COATING AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SUCH A DEVICE

摘要

A semiconductor device comprising a silicon substrate (1) is provided with semiconductor elements (3) on a first side (2), a metallization with connection pads (12) for external contact, and a passivation layer (13) which leaves the connection pads of the metallization exposed. The integrated circuit thus formed is also provided with a ceramic security coating (14) having a matrix of monoaluminium phosphate which also leaves the connection pads of the metallization exposed. The protective layer can be deposited so as to have a thickness in the range from 2 to 10 mu m, and hence is suitable for protecting integrated circuits used in smart cards. As a result, the information stored therein is not accessible.