Semiconductor devices having crack-inhibiting structures

A semiconductor device, comprising:

• a substrate;
• an insulating material over the substrate;
• a bond pad;
• and
• a crack-inhibiting structure positioned at least partially in the insulating material beneath and vertically aligned with the bond pad, wherein the crack-inhibiting structure includes a barrier member extending at least partially between the substrate and the bond pad, and wherein the bond pad is electrically coupled to the substrate via an electrical path that does not include the crack-inhibiting structure.

A semiconductor device, comprising:

• a substrate;
• an insulating material over the substrate;
• a plurality of bond pads;
• and
• metal structures, wherein individual ones of the metal structures (a) are positioned and vertically aligned with a corresponding one of the bond pads and between the corresponding one of the bond pads and the substrate and (b) include a barrier member extending at least partially between the substrate and the corresponding one of the bond pads, and wherein the bond pads are electrically coupled to the substrate via electrical paths that do not include the metal structures.