5. Related solutions

5.1 Chip passivation

The first step in countering circuit corrosion was to improve the semiconductor's protective, or passivation, layers. The most commonly used materials are silica and silicon nitride, deposited in thin layers (of the order of μm). Passivation takes place at the end of wafer manufacturing. The metallized areas used to wire the interconnection wires are not covered by the protection (figure ).

The quality of the passivation is also an important parameter of the protection provided: a lack of integrity...