scribe - line structures and methods of forming such scribe - line structures on a face of a semiconductor substrate are provided . by means of the scribe - line structures and the methods of this invention , physical shock and cracking tendencies along a semiconductor substrate can be minimized during performance of a cutting process on the semiconductor substrate as part of post - fabrication processing . a representative method according to this invention comprises the sequential steps of : forming a lower layer on a semiconductor substrate ; forming a molding layer on the lower layer such that the molding layer includes at least one protective contact hole ; subsequently forming a dielectric layer and an upper layer on the molding layer so as to fill the protective contact hole , such dielectric layer being formed of a material having a greater mechanical intensity than that of the molding layer ; and then forming protective layer patterns on the upper layer .