Passivation scheme design for wafer singulation

A method of forming a semiconductor device, the method comprising:

• forming a first interconnect structure and a second interconnect structure over a substrate in a first device region and a second device region of the semiconductor device, respectively, wherein a scribe line region of the semiconductor device is interposed between the first device region and the second device region;
• forming a first passivation layer over the first interconnect structure and over the second interconnect structure, wherein the first passivation layer extends continuously from the first device region to the second device region;
• removing a first portion of the first passivation layer from the scribe line region;
• after removing the first portion of the first passivation layer, forming a second passivation layer over the first passivation layer, the second passivation layer extending continuously from the first device region to the second device region;
• removing a second portion of the second passivation layer from the scribe line region;
• and
• after removing the second portion of the second passivation layer from the scribe line region, performing a plasma dicing process to form a trench in the scribe line region that extends into the substrate from a first side of the substrate facing the first passivation layer.

A method of forming a semiconductor device, the method comprising:

• forming electrical components in a substrate;
• forming an interconnect structure over the substrate and electrically coupled to the electrical components;
• forming a seal ring around the interconnect structure;
• forming a first passivation layer over the interconnect structure, over the seal ring, and over a dicing region of the semiconductor device adjacent to the seal ring;
• removing a portion of the first passivation layer from the dicing region;
• after removing the portion of the first passivation layer, forming a conductive pad over the first passivation layer;
• forming a dielectric layer over the conductive pad, over the first passivation layer, and over the dicing region;
• and
• after forming the dielectric layer, forming a trench in the dicing region using a plasma dicing process, wherein the trench is formed to extends from the dielectric layer into the substrate, wherein after the trench is formed, there is a first lateral distance between a first sidewall of the first passivation layer facing the trench and a sidewall of the dielectric layer closest to the first sidewall.