Semiconductor Active Area Layout for Leakage Reduction

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current design rules for semiconductor devices face challenges in balancing the spacing and interactions between patterns in adjacent cells, leading to variability in device performance due to leakage and size issues, particularly in integrating continuous and discontinuous active area configurations.

Innovation Solution

A mixed configuration approach for cell regions, combining both AA-continuous and AA-discontinuous configurations, where active areas extend into adjacent regions with gaps, allowing for reduced leakage and optimized cell size, is implemented, along with the use of body-MP-tie arrangements and selective removal of certain patterns to enhance layout diagrams.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If continuous active area configuration is used, then device performance is improved, but leakage between cell regions increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedevice performanceVSAvoidleakage between cell regions

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The active area configuration is segmented into different regions within the same cell region. Some active areas are configured to be continuous with adjacent cell regions while others are discontinuous, creating distinct segments that serve different functional purposes. This segmentation allows the device to achieve both continuous configurations for performance and discontinuous configurations for leakage reduction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the active area are given different continuity characteristics based on local requirements. Specifically, first and second active areas have continuous configurations in certain directions to improve device performance, while third and fourth active areas have discontinuous configurations to reduce leakage. This local differentiation of quality resolves the contradiction between performance and leakage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Object-generated harmful factors

If discontinuous active area configuration is used, then leakage is reduced, but device size increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveleakage between cell regionsVSAvoidcell region size

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-generated harmful factorsVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The cell region is divided into multiple active areas with different continuity characteristics. By segmenting the active area configuration, the design achieves leakage reduction in specific regions while maintaining compact overall cell size through continuous configurations in other areas, avoiding the need to increase the entire cell region size.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Discontinuous active area configurations are applied locally to specific portions of the cell region where leakage reduction is most beneficial, rather than uniformly across the entire cell. This localized application minimizes the impact on overall cell size while achieving the leakage reduction goal.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Ease of manufacture

If uniform active area configuration is used across all cell regions, then manufacturing is simplified, but device performance variability increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelayout consistencyVSAvoiddevice performance consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The uniform active area configuration is segmented into multiple types (continuous and discontinuous) that can be selectively applied to different cell regions. This segmentation allows manufacturing processes to handle multiple configuration types while maintaining standardized fabrication procedures, achieving performance consistency without overly complicating the manufacturing process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The active area configuration system is designed to accommodate multiple configuration types (continuous and discontinuous) within a unified manufacturing framework. This multi-functionality allows the same manufacturing process to produce both continuous and discontinuous configurations, maintaining ease of manufacture while enabling performance optimization through configuration variety.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS11048848B2Semiconductor device including region having both continuous regions, and method and system for generating layout diagram of same

Publication Date: 2021.06.29 TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO LTD

AI summary

A method (of generating a layout diagram) includes: for a first cell which includes first and second active area patterns, a cell-boundary (CB) having first and second edge portions (EPs) substantially parallel to a vertical direction (VEPs), and first and second VEP-adjacent regions correspondingly adjacent the first and second VEPs: configuring the first VEP-adjacent region (VAR) to be a first active area (AA) continuous (AA-continuous) region in which the first active area pattern extends in a horizontal direction from an interior of the first cell to the first VEP; and configuring the second VAR to be a first AA-discontinuous region, the second active area pattern extending in the horizontal direction from the interior of the first cell towards the second VEP, and there being a first gap between a first end of the second active area pattern and the second VEP representing the first AA-discontinuous region.