Semiconductor Test Layout Isolation for Leakage Current Accuracy
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The parasitic leakage of transistors in current semiconductor test structures is significant due to the shared gate structures and connected active areas, leading to increased coupling effects and leakage currents during electrical testing.
Innovation Solution
The semiconductor layout structure separates adjacent first active areas and metal layers, ensuring that transistors do not share the same active areas or metal connections, thereby preventing coupling effects and reducing parasitic leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If transistors share the same gate structures and active areas, then device complexity is reduced and manufacturing is simplified, but parasitic leakage increases and measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the gate structures into separate first gate structures and second gate structures, and divides active areas into separate first active areas and second active areas. This segmentation prevents adjacent transistors from sharing the same gate structures and active areas, thereby reducing parasitic leakage and coupling effects during electrical testing while maintaining reasonable device complexity through systematic layout organization.
2Manufacturing precision
If adjacent active areas are connected, then manufacturing precision requirements are reduced, but parasitic leakage increases due to coupling effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments adjacent active areas into separate first active areas and second active areas that are isolated from each other. This segmentation prevents the formation of parasitic leakage paths through shared active areas, eliminating coupling effects between adjacent transistors during electrical testing while maintaining relaxed manufacturing precision requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If transistors share gate structures, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to increased leakage currents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements segmentation of gate structures into separate first gate structures and second gate structures for adjacent transistors. This approach maintains ease of manufacture through standardized fabrication processes while eliminating parasitic leakage paths, thereby improving transistor performance stability and reliability during electrical testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces isolated second active areas as intermediary regions between first active areas of adjacent transistors. These intermediary regions act as electrical isolators, preventing direct coupling and parasitic leakage between adjacent transistors while maintaining the overall structural integrity and manufacturability of the device.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor layout structure includes: active layers, each active layer including a first active area and a second active area arranged adjacent to the first active area, the first active area including first transistor areas spaced apart from each other, the second active area including second transistor areas spaced apart from each other; and gate layers, each gate layer being arranged above a respective active layer, and including at least one first gate structure extending along a first direction, and second gate structures spaced apart from each other in the first direction, and the at least one first gate structure and the second gate structures being arranged adjacent to each other, the at least one first gate structure corresponding to the first transistor areas, and each second gate structure corresponding to a second transistor area.