Dummy Tower Structure Layout for IC Antenna Effect Isolation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The semiconductor industry faces challenges in managing thermal stress and preventing 'plasma induced gate oxide damage' or 'antenna effect' during the manufacturing of miniaturized integrated circuit (IC) devices, which complicates the integration of multiple components with varying materials and requires efficient thermal management and heat dissipation.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of tower structures with conductive patterns and vias, surrounded by ring regions, provides mechanical strength and isolates electrical charges, preventing accumulation and thus avoiding damage to the gate oxide, while also ensuring effective electrical coupling and bumping processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If integration density is increased to accommodate miniaturized scale, then more components can be integrated into a given area, but thermal management and heat dissipation become more difficult due to high power density
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces ring regions that segment the continuous conductive patterns into isolated sections. These ring regions act as thermal and electrical isolation barriers, dividing the heat generation areas into separate zones. This segmentation prevents heat accumulation in concentrated areas and facilitates better thermal management across the high-density integrated circuit.
Solution Approach 2:
The ring regions serve as intermediary structures between adjacent conductive patterns. These intermediary ring regions provide isolation and protection, preventing direct thermal and electrical interaction between neighboring high-power components. The ring regions with conductive patterns act as buffer zones that manage thermal stress and electrical charges.
2Reliability
If continuous conductive patterns are used to ensure electrical coupling, then electrical connectivity is improved, but electrical charges accumulate during manufacturing causing plasma induced gate oxide damage
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive patterns are segmented by introducing ring regions that electrically isolate different sections. This segmentation prevents the formation of continuous conductive paths that would act as antennas during plasma processing. The isolated conductive patterns within ring regions maintain necessary electrical coupling for device function while preventing charge accumulation that causes the antenna effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful continuous conductive paths are extracted or removed by introducing isolation ring regions. The ring regions take out the problematic connectivity between adjacent conductive patterns, eliminating the antenna effect while preserving the essential electrical coupling needed for device operation through controlled connections within the ring structure.
3Area of moving object
If miniaturization is pursued to improve integration density, then device size is reduced, but mechanical strength becomes insufficient to sustain bumping stress
Solution Approach 1:
The device structure is segmented into multiple functional regions including tower structures and ring regions. This segmentation creates a hierarchical structure where smaller functional units are organized within a larger framework, distributing mechanical stress across multiple discrete structures rather than relying on a single continuous path, thereby enhancing overall mechanical strength despite miniaturization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite structures combining different materials and geometries - tower structures with conductive patterns, ring regions with insulating materials, and multi-layer constructions. This composite approach enhances mechanical strength by distributing stress across different material properties and structural configurations, allowing the miniaturized device to sustain bumping stress effectively.
Data Source
AI summary
An IC device includes an interlayer dielectric (ILD), a first tower structure embedded in the ILD, and a first ring region including a portion of the ILD that extends around the first tower structure. The first tower structure includes a plurality of first conductive patterns in a plurality of metal layers, and a plurality of first vias between the plurality of metal layers along a thickness direction of the IC device. The plurality of first conductive patterns and the plurality of first vias are coupled to each other to form the first tower structure. The plurality of first conductive patterns is confined by the first ring region, without extending beyond the first ring region. The first tower structure is a dummy tower structure.