Variable Width Power Rail for Semiconductor Power Loss Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
As semiconductor process technology advances, the miniaturization of power rails in semiconductor devices increases resistance, leading to higher power losses, and widening the rails to minimize this loss can violate design rules.
Innovation Solution
The semiconductor device incorporates a power rail with varying widths in different directions, where the portion overlapping a filler or decoupling capacitor cell is wider than that overlapping a standard cell, allowing for reduced resistance and power loss without violating design rules, and may use multiple power rails on different layers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the width of the power rail is increased to reduce resistance and power loss, then power loss is reduced, but the configuration may violate preset design rules
Solution Approach 1:
The power rail is designed with variable width where different sections have different widths. Specifically, the power rail has a first width in a first region and a second width in a second region, where the second width is greater than the first width. This allows the power rail to have increased width (and thus reduced resistance) in specific regions without uniformly increasing the power rail width throughout, thereby avoiding violations of design rules in other regions.
2Productivity
If the width of the power rail is decreased due to miniaturization, then device integration is improved, but resistance and power loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The power rail employs a variable width design where specific regions have greater width to compensate for resistance increases due to miniaturization. This allows the overall device to benefit from miniaturization while critical sections maintain sufficient width to keep power loss acceptable.
Solution Approach 2:
The power rail width varies along its length (spatial dimension), creating a non-uniform cross-sectional profile. This dimensional variation allows optimization of electrical properties in different regions without increasing the overall footprint of the device.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration reduces power loss and minimizes the possibility of operation errors by stabilizing power supply to cells, while adhering to design rules by expanding the power rail width only where possible.
Implementation Method 1
a power rail, which is a passage for transferring power to the memory cells in a semiconductor device
Implementation Method 2
the resistance of the power rail increases, resulting in an increase in the amount of power loss occurring in the semiconductor device
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a semiconductor device. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a semiconductor device may include: a first cell; a second cell; and a power rail that is a passage configured to supply power to the first cell, wherein the power rail may extend in a first direction, and wherein, in the power rail, a width in a second direction, of a portion overlapping the second cell may be greater than a width in the second direction, of a portion overlapping the first cell. This makes it possible to reduce power loss that occurs through the power rail in the semiconductor, and to reduce the possibility of an operation error of cells existing in the semiconductor device.