GEOMETRY FOR A PNP SILICON TRANSISTOR WITH OVERLAY CONTACTS

A semiconductor device having an expanded guard ring overlying substantially the entire surface of a region except for at least one island therein. A relatively thin protective coating overlies the guard ring and a relatively thick protective coating overlies the island. A terminal connector contact for a wire-bonded or flip-chip device is formed on the relatively thick island portion of the protective coating, which is more suitable for withstanding bonding pressure. One form of this device includes a PNP transistor having an expanded P+ guard ring overlying a substantial portion of the collector surface noncontiguously closely surrounding the base region of the transistor. Islands of original P-type material having a relatively thick oxide coating thereon are left within the expanded P+ guard ring to support wire-bonding or flip-chip contact pads.