Reduction of topside movement during temperature cycles

Abstract

An integrated circuit structure that includes a patterned uppermost conductive layer having a current-carrying trace. The current-carrying trace is connected to an underlying substrate by a multi-layer interconnect structure. The current-carrying trace, which is located around the outer edges of the integrated circuit structure, has at least one edge exhibiting a serpentine pattern. A topside film is located over the patterned uppermost conductive layer, wherein the topside film exhibits an increased thickness adjacent to the serpentine pattern. The increased thickness of the serpentine pattern results in a relatively strong topside film structure near the edges of the substrate. As a result, the portions of the topside film located over inner traces of the uppermost conductive layer are protected from excessive forces during thermal cycling.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.