US Patent 7629689 Semiconductor integrated circuit having connection pads over active elements

A semiconductor integrated circuit having connection pads arranged over active elements is disclosed. The connection pad is divided into a probing area and a bonding area, and reinforcing structures are formed separately under the respective areas. The reinforcing structure under the probing area is formed using a number of wiring layers less than the number of wiring layers used for forming the reinforcing structure under the bonding area. As a result, the wiring layers under the probing area are efficiently utilized to forms wires for realizing the logical function of the integrated circuit.