Backside Contact Nanosheet IC Layout for Short-Circuit Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of downscaling integrated circuit (IC) devices requires stable and optimized wiring structures to prevent undesired short-circuits while maintaining high operating speed and accuracy, especially with conductive lines in a reduced area.
Innovation Solution
The IC device incorporates a backside contact structure with insulating walls and nanosheet stacks, ensuring a stable and optimized arrangement of semiconductor regions, source/drain regions, and backside contacts to minimize contact resistance and prevent short-circuits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the area of IC device is reduced for downscaling, then integration density is improved, but the risk of short-circuits between conductive regions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a backside contact structure that extends from the front surface through the substrate to the back surface, utilizing the third dimension (vertical depth) to establish electrical connections. This dimensional transition allows contacts to bypass the planar congestion issue, reducing short-circuit risk while maintaining high integration density in the reduced footprint area.
Solution Approach 2:
The backside contact is nested within the substrate structure, with the contact structure positioned inside the semiconductor substrate and extending through multiple layers. This nesting approach allows the contact to be integrated within the existing device architecture without increasing the lateral footprint, thereby improving integration density while maintaining reliable electrical isolation.
2Area of stationary object
If conductive lines are arranged in a smaller area for downscaling, then device size is reduced, but wiring structure stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The backside contact structure transitions from two-dimensional planar wiring to three-dimensional vertical wiring by extending through the substrate thickness. This dimensional change allows electrical connections to be established in the vertical dimension rather than competing for lateral space, thereby reducing device footprint while maintaining wiring structure stability through controlled contact geometry and positioning.
3Reliability
If backside contact is used to reduce contact resistance, then electrical properties are improved, but contact structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The backside contact structure is segmented into distinct functional regions: a contact portion at the front surface, a body portion extending through the substrate, and a terminal portion at the back surface. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized independently for its specific function while simplifying the overall manufacturing process through standardized formation techniques for each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The backside contact structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides electrical connection from front to back surface, acts as a current path for high-current applications, and can serve as an anchoring structure for other device components. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated structures, thereby improving electrical properties without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated circuit device may include semiconductor regions; an insulating wall extending in a first lateral direction and passing in a vertical direction between a pair of semiconductor regions adjacent to each other in a second lateral direction among the semiconductor regions, a pair of nanosheet stacks overlapping the pair of semiconductor regions in the vertical direction and facing frontside surfaces of the pair of semiconductor regions, a pair of source/drain regions, and a backside contact. Each nanosheet stack may include a nanosheet having one end contacting a sidewall of the insulating wall in the second lateral direction. A contact end portion of the backside contact may be connected to one of the pair of source/drain regions. A contact sidewall of the backside contact may contact the insulating wall. The second lateral direction may be perpendicular to the first lateral direction.