Interleaved Clock Gate and Decoupling Capacitor Blocks for Electromigration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional semiconductor devices face issues such as self-heating and electromigration due to concentrated current flow in clock gate blocks, which are segregated from decoupling capacitor blocks, leading to inefficiencies and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
Interleaving clock gate blocks and decoupling capacitor blocks within cell regions to distribute current more uniformly, reducing concentration and susceptibility to self-heating and electromigration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If clock gate blocks and decoupling capacitor blocks are segregated, then device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but current distribution becomes uneven leading to self-heating and electromigration issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges clock gate blocks and decoupling capacitor blocks into a unified cell region, allowing them to share common power lines and ground lines. This integration ensures that decoupling capacitors are positioned close to clock gate power consumption points, providing effective high-frequency noise filtering and stabilizing power supply voltage, thereby preventing self-heating and electromigration while maintaining manufacturing simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by positioning decoupling capacitor blocks specifically within the cell region adjacent to clock gate blocks that have high current consumption. This localized placement ensures that decoupling capacitance is provided exactly where needed in the circuit, optimizing power supply stability for high-frequency clock operations without requiring global redistribution of components
2Ease of manufacture
If clock gate blocks and decoupling capacitor blocks are segregated, then manufacturing process is simplified, but current concentration increases causing self-heating and electromigration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges clock gate blocks and decoupling capacitor blocks into a unified cell region, allowing them to share common power lines and ground lines. This integration ensures that decoupling capacitors are positioned close to clock gate power consumption points, providing effective high-frequency noise filtering and stabilizing power supply voltage, thereby preventing self-heating and electromigration while maintaining manufacturing simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses decoupling capacitor blocks as intermediary elements positioned between the power lines and clock gate blocks. These capacitors act as local energy reservoirs that quickly supply current during high-frequency switching events, reducing current spikes and electromagnetic interference, thereby mitigating self-heating and electromigration effects on power lines
3Device complexity
If clock gate blocks are concentrated in specific regions, then device complexity is reduced, but current distribution becomes uneven affecting operational reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the semiconductor device into multiple cell regions, each containing a integrated clock gate block and decoupling capacitor block. This segmentation distributes power consumption points throughout the device, ensuring that each clock gate has its own local decoupling capacitance. The segmented structure maintains organizational simplicity while achieving uniform current distribution and high operational reliability
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device having a cell region, the cell region including a first set of one or more first blocks and a second set of one or more second blocks. Each of the first blocks including a clock gate and each of the second blocks includes a decoupling capacitor. The first set has two or more first blocks and/or the second set has two or more second blocks. The first blocks of the first set are interleaved with the second blocks of the second set.