Backside Power Delivery Contact Layout for Placeholder Reliability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional semiconductor designs face challenges in evaluating the reliability of backside power delivery devices, particularly in assessing the gate to placeholder reliability due to the replacement of placeholders with metal layers after patterning backside contacts.

Innovation Solution

The proposed solution involves forming a semiconductor device with a backside source/drain contact and a placeholder disposed between gate cut portions, allowing for the evaluation of gate to placeholder reliability by maintaining the placeholder structure during backside power delivery assessments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If placeholders are replaced with metal layers after patterning backside contacts, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the ability to evaluate gate to placeholder reliability is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing process simplificationVSAvoidgate to placeholder reliability evaluation capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the placeholder structure from the conventional process by maintaining it as a separate, visible element rather than replacing it with metal. This allows the placeholder to be evaluated independently while still being part of the overall device structure, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and reliability evaluation capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The placeholder serves as an intermediary element between the gate and the backside contact structure. By maintaining the placeholder in its original form rather than replacing it, it continues to serve as a reliable evaluation target for assessing gate to placeholder reliability while still enabling the backside power delivery architecture

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of manufacture

If conventional backside contact patterning is used, then manufacturing is easier, but reliability assessment of backside power delivery devices cannot be performed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebackside contact patterning simplicityVSAvoidbackside power delivery reliability assessment

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary action by maintaining the placeholder structure in place before final metal layer deposition. This preliminary preservation of the placeholder structure enables subsequent reliability assessment to be performed on the actual placeholder that will be present in the final device, rather than on a replaced metal layer

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The placeholder structure is maintained as a faithful copy or representation of the intended final structure at the evaluation stage. By keeping the placeholder visible and accessible, it serves as an accurate model for reliability assessment that mirrors the actual device architecture without requiring replacement

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS20250203933A1Contact and placeholder configuration for backside power delivery devices

Publication Date: 2025.06.19 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION

AI summary

A semiconductor device includes a backside source/drain contact and a placeholder disposed between a first gate cut portion and a second gate cut portion, where the backside source/drain contact contacts a frontside inter-layer dielectric layer disposed between a first gate structure associated with the first gate cut portion and a second gate structure associated with the second gate cut portion.