A semiconductor device having an improved contact structure. The device has a semiconductor substrate and a plurality of gate structures formed on the substrate. The device has a first interlayer dielectric overlying the gate structures. The device has a first copper interconnect layer overlying the first interlayer dielectric layer. The device also has a first low K dielectric layer overlying the first copper interconnect layer. A second copper interconnect layer is overlying the low K dielectric layer. In between the first and second copper layers is a copper ring structure enclosing an entirety of an inner region of the first low K dielectric layer. In a preferred embodiment, the copper ring structure is provided between the first copper interconnect layer and the second copper interconnect layer to maintain the inner region of the first low K dielectric layer. A bonding pad structure is overlying a region within the inner region.