accordingly fig1 shows a schematic cross - sectional diagram of metal bonding pad 14 within opening 15 of intermetal dielectric ( imd ) layer 12 of an integrated circuit that includes semiconductor structure 10 . semiconductor structure 10 is understood to possibly include a semiconductor wafer or substrate , active and passive devices formed within the wafer , conductive layers and dielectric layers ( e . g ., inter - poly oxide ( ipo ), intermetal dielectric ( imd ), etc .) formed over the wafer surface . the term “ semiconductor structure ” is meant to include devices formed within a semiconductor wafer and the layers overlying the wafer . imd layer 12 is formed over semiconductor structure 10 . bonding pad opening 15 is etched within imd layer 12 . metal bonding pad 14 is formed within bonding pad opening 15 unless otherwise specified , all structures , layers , etc . may be formed or accomplished by conventional methods known in the prior art . metal bonding pad 14 may be comprised of copper or a copper alloy such as alcu , and is preferably copper , and contacts underlying circuitry ( not shown ) covered by imd layer 12 . for purposes of illustration , metal bonding pad 14 will be considered comprised of copper hereafter in all subsequent embodiments . there are two different illustrated embodiments to effectively recess copper bonding pad 14 starting with the structure shown in fig1 . the first such embodiment is illustrated in fig2 ( wet stripping , or etching ). the second such embodiment is illustrated in fig3 a and 3b ( normal passivation mask and etch ). these two alternate methods of forming a copper recess will be discussed in turn . i . as shown in fig2 ( the first copper recess embodiment example ), the copper recess may be formed by wet stripping , or etching , copper bonding pad 14 of fig1 using hno 3 , o2 / nh 3 , o 2 / ammonium salt , hf / ch 3 cooh , or other conventional chemistries at room temperature , but time of etching and concentration will affect the amount of copper etched which is determined by the depth of the recess needed . this creates opening 19 within imd layer 12 over recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′. recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′ so formed is recessed from about 500 to 10 , 000 å beneath the upper surface 12 ′ of imd layer 12 , and more preferably from about 1000 to 5000 å . ii . fig3 a and 3b illustrate the second copper recess embodiment example . as shown in fig3 a , passivation layer 16 is formed over copper bonding pad 14 and imd layer 12 of fig1 . as shown in fig3 b , passivation layer 16 may be masked ( not shown ) and etched to form opening 21 exposing copper bonding pad 14 and leaving passivation layer portions 16 ′ on either side of copper bonding pad 14 . for either the fig2 embodiment or the fig3 a and 3b embodiment of forming recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′, 14 , respectively , recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′, 14 is recessed 17 from about 1000 to 10 , 000 å , and more preferably from about 2000 to 7000 å beneath the surface 12 ′, 16 ″ of patterned imd layer 12 and patterned passivation layer 16 ′, respectively . methods of forming a conductive cap layer over the recessed copper bonding pad in a key step of the invention , and in whichever embodiment is used to form recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′, 14 , conductive cap layer , preferably comprised of titanium ( ti ), tantalum ( ta ), tungsten ( w ), or other metal or conductive compound which has a good adhesion between the cu bonding pad 14 ′, 14 and the bonding element 22 , in all embodiments of the present invention , is then formed over recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′ 14 as shown in fig4 a - 5 c , 6 a - 6 c , and 7 . for purposes of simplicity , patterned passivation layer 16 ′ will not be shown . as shown in fig4 conductive cap layer 18 is formed over recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′, 14 and either patterned imd layer 12 or patterned passivation layer 16 ′ ( not shown ). conductive cap 18 may be formed by a pvd or cvd method . conductive cap layer 18 is from about 500 to 5000 å thick , and more preferably from about 1000 to 4000 å . there are three different illustrated embodiments to pattern conductive cap layer 18 so as to only cover recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′, 14 . the first such embodiment is illustrated in fig5 a - 5c ( spin - on - material deposition and blanket etch back ). the second such embodiment is illustrated in fig6 a - 6c ( photoresist masking and etching ). the third such embodiment is illustrated in fig7 ( chemical mechanical polishing ). i . fig5 a - 5c illustrate the first conductive cap layer 18 ′ formation embodiment example ( spin - on - material deposition and blanket etch back ). as shown in fig5 a , spin - on - coating 20 is deposited over conductive cap layer 18 of fig4 preferably by a spin - on technique . spin - on - coating 20 may be comprised of photoresist , polyimide , organic planarization barc , or spin - on - glass ( sog ) and is preferably comprised of photoresist . spin - on - coating 20 is generally thicker over opening 15 and thinner over the surface 12 ′ of patterned imd layer 12 due to planarization effect . as shown in fig5 b , a blanket etch is then performed , removing that portion of spin - on - coating 20 and conductive cap layer 18 over the surface 12 ′ of patterned imd layer 12 , leaving some of spin - on - coating 20 and all of conductive cap layer 18 ′ within opening 15 over recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′, 14 . as shown in fig5 c , an ashing , a wet ashing , or the combination of the two , and a cleaning step removes the remaining portion of spin - on - coating 20 within opening 15 , leaving conductive cap layer 18 ′ over recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′, 14 . ii . fig6 a - 6c illustrate the second conductive cap layer 18 ′ formation embodiment example ( photoresist masking and etching ). as shown in fig6 a , photoresist mask layer 21 is selectively formed over the portion of conductive cap layer 18 within opening 15 of fig4 by a reverse mask process or a reverse - tone resist process to mask that portion of conductive cap layer 18 within opening 15 . as shown if fig6 b , the unmasked portion of conductive cap layer 18 is etched , preferably by a plasma etch , and removed . as shown in fig6 c , photoresist mask 21 is removed , preferably by ashing , and the structure is cleaned . iii . fig7 illustrates the third conductive cap layer 18 ′ formation embodiment example ( chemical mechanical polishing ). as shown in fig7 the conductive cap layer 18 of fig4 is polished to remove the excess of conductive cap layer 18 over patterned imd layer 12 or passivation layer 16 ′ ( not shown ), preferably by chemical mechanically polishing ( cmp ). regardless of which of the three conductive cap layer 18 ′ formation embodiment examples are employed the resulting structures shown in fig5 c , 6 c and 7 are essentially identical . as shown in fig8 bonding element 22 is positioned to contact , or connect , to conductive cap layer 18 ′ at 24 of any of the structures illustrated in fig5 c , 6 c , or 7 . conductive cap layer 18 ′ effectively acts as a good glue layer to permit bonding or attachment of bonding element 22 , allowing an electrical connection between bonding element 22 and recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′, 14 . bonding element 22 may be comprised of gold or aluminum , and is preferably gold , and may be a wire . for purposes of illustration , bonding element 22 will be considered to be a gold wire hereafter . gold wire ( bonding element ) 22 is placed vertically ( at an angle of about 90 °) above conductive cap layer 18 ′. thus , by implementing the present invention , there is a minimum compromise in the resistivity of the top layer , i . e . conductive cap layer 18 ′, as cu instead of al can be used as the bonding pad , i . e . recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′, 14 . in addition , conductive cap layer 18 ′ is a good glue layer between recessed copper bonding pad 14 ′, 14 and gold bonding element 22 . while particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described , it is not intended to limit the invention , except as defined by the following claims .