International Business Machines Corporation

Globalfoundries Inc.

Richard Andre Wachnik

Hazara Singh Rathore

Timothy Dooling Sullivan

Ronald G Filippi

Du Binh Nguyen

Sungjae Lee

Yue Tan

Haining S Yang

Thomas M Shaw

Anthony Correale, Jr

Hormazdyar M Dalal

Zhibin Ren

Paul Stephen McLaughlin

Siyuranga O Koswatta

Birendra N Agarwala

Richard G Smith

Scott Keith Springer

Eric M Coker

Lan Luo

Alexander J Swinton

Jeffrey P Gambino

Jack Allan Mandelman

Rajiv V Joshi

Dureseti Chidambarrao

Terence B Hook

Ping-Chuan Wang

Robert Russell Robison

Chengwen Pei

Kerry Bernstein

Arvind Kumar

Kai D Feng

Randy William Mann

Anthony I Chou

Phillip John Restle

Nazmul Habib

David S Wolpert

Daniel Lawrence Stasiak

Dan Moy

Susan K Lichtensteiger

Robert Rosenberg

Leon Jacob Sigal

Jae-Eun Park

Matthew S Angyal

Charles Robert Davis

Henry Atkinson Nye, Iii

Pinping Sun

Ryan Michael Kruse

Theodore Harold Zabel

Bruce Balch

Richard Edward Serton

George S Prokop

Craig R Gruszecki

Phillip C Lin

Aspects of the invention include systems and methods for implementing a CMOS circuit design that uses a sea-of-gates fill methodology to provide latch-up avoidance. A non-limiting example computer-implemented method includes identifying a fill cell in the circuit design. The fill cell can include a power rail, a ground rail, and a field-effect transistor (FET) electrically coupled to the power rail through a via. The method can include disconnecting the via from the power rail and moving the via to a disconnected node in the fill cell. Moving the via decouples a source or drain of the fill cell from a well of the fill cell, preventing latch-up while maintaining via and metal shape density.

Latch-up avoidance for sea-of-gates

A semiconductor structure comprises one or more semiconductor devices, each of the semiconductor devices having two or more electrical connections; one or more first conductors connected to a first electrical connection on the semiconductor device, the first conductor comprising a first material having a positive Seebeck coefficient; and one or more second conductors connected to a second electrical connection on the semiconductor device, the second conductor comprising a second material having a negative Seebeck coefficient. The first conductor and the second conductor conduct electrical current through the semiconductor device and conduct heat away from the semiconductor device.

Integrated circuits with Peltier cooling provided by back-end wiring

Integrated circuits with peltier cooling provided by back-end wiring

A buried conductive layer is formed underneath a buried insulator layer of a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. A deep isolation trench laterally surrounding a portion of the buried conductive layer is formed, and is filled with at least a dielectric liner to form a deep capacitor trench isolation structure. Contact via structures are formed through the buried insulator layer and a top semiconductor layer and onto the portion of the buried conductive layer, which constitutes a buried conductive conduit. The deep capacitor trench isolation structure may be formed concurrently with at least one deep trench capacitor. A patterned portion of the top semiconductor layer may be employed as an additional conductive conduit for signal transmission. Further, the deep capacitor trench isolation structure may include a conductive portion, which can be electrically biased to control the impedance of the signal path including the buried conductive conduit.

Buried signal transmission line

A capacitor structure can include a parallel connection of a plurality of trench capacitors. First nodes of the plurality of trench capacitors are electrically tied to provide a first node of the capacitor structure. Second nodes of the plurality of trench capacitors are electrically tied together through at least one programmable electrical connection at a second node of the capacitor structure. Each programmable electrical connection can include at least one of a programmable electrical fuse and a field effect transistor, and can disconnect a corresponding trench capacitor temporarily or permanently. The total capacitance of the capacitor structure can be tuned by programming, temporarily or permanently, the at least one programmable electrical connection.

Precision trench capacitor

Contact with a floating body of an FET in SOI may be formed in a portion of one of the two diffusions of the FET, wherein the portion of the diffusion (such as N&#x2212;, for an NFET) which is 'sacrificed' for making the contact is a portion of the diffusion which is not immediately adjacent (or under) the gate. This works well with linked body FETs, wherein the diffusion does not extend all the way to BOX, hence the linked body (such as P&#x2212;) extends under the diffusion where the contact is being made. An example showing making contact for ground to two NFETs (PG and PD) of a 6T SRAM cell is shown.

Body contacts for FET in SOI SRAM array

A method is provided for characterizing performance of a chip having at least one voltage island and at least one performance screen ring oscillator (PSRO). An on-chip performance monitor (OCPM) is incorporated on the voltage island. Performance measurements of the voltage island are generated with only the voltage island under power. Performance measurements of the performance screen ring oscillator (PSRO) are generated with only the voltage island under power. Performance measurements of the performance screen ring oscillator (PSRO) is compared to the performance measurements of the on-chip performance monitor (OCPM) to determine a systematic offset due to the voltage island. Performance models are adjusted using the systematic offset due to the voltage island.

Voltage island performance/leakage screen monitor for IP characterization

An array of deep trenches is formed in a doped portion of the semiconductor substrate, which forms a lower electrode. A dielectric layer is formed on the sidewalls of the array of deep trenches. The array of deep trenches is filled with a doped semiconductor material to form an upper electrode comprising a top plate portion and a plurality of extension portions into the array of trenches. In a depletion mode, the bias condition across the dielectric layer depletes majority carriers within the top electrode, thus providing a low capacitance. In an accumulation mode, the bias condition attracts majority carriers toward the dielectric layer, providing a high capacitance. Thus, the trench metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) varactor provides a variable capacitance depending on the polarity of the bias.

Highly tunable metal-on-semiconductor trench varactor

A method for forming an interconnect structure, the interconnect structure comprising: a lower level wire having a side and a bottom, the lower level wire comprising: a lower core conductor and a lower conductive liner, the lower conductive liner on the side and the bottom of the lower level wire; an upper level wire having a side and a bottom, the upper level wire comprising an upper core conductor and an upper conductive liner, the upper conductive liner on the side and the bottom of the upper level wire; and the upper conductive liner in contact with the lower core conductor and also in contact with the lower conductive liner in a liner-to-liner contact region.

Dual damascene multi-level metallization

An interconnect structure, comprising: a lower level wire having a side and a bottom, the lower level wire comprising: a lower core conductor and a lower conductive liner, the lower conductive liner on the side and the bottom of the lower level wire; an upper level wire having a side and a bottom, the upper level wire comprising an upper core conductor and an upper conductive liner, the upper conductive liner on the side and the bottom of the upper level wire; and the upper conductive liner in contact with the lower core conductor and also in contact with the lower conductive liner in a liner-to-liner contact region.

Dual-damascene metallization interconnection

The present invention generally concerns fabrication methods and device architectures for use in memory circuits, and more particularly concerns hybrid silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and bulk architectures for use in memory circuits. Once aspect of the invention concerns CMOS SRAM cell architectures where at least one pair of adjacent NFETs in an SRAM cell have body regions linked by a leakage path diffusion region positioned beneath shallow source/drain diffusions, where the leakage path diffusion region extends from the bottom of the source/drain diffusion to the buried oxide layer, and at least one pair of NFETs from adjacent SRAM cells which have body regions linked by a similar leakage path diffusion region beneath adjacent source/drain diffusions. Another aspect of this invention concerns a microprocessor fabricated on an hybrid orientation substrate where the logic portion of the circuit has NFETs fabricated in (100) crystal orientation SOI silicon regions with floating body regions and PFETs fabricated in (110) crystal orientation bulk silicon regions; and where the SRAM memory portion has NFETs fabricated in (100) crystal orientation SOI silicon regions with body regions linked by leakage path diffusion regions beneath shallow source/drain diffusions and PFETs fabricated in (110) crystal orientation silicon regions.

SRAM memories and microprocessors having logic portions implemented in high-performance silicon substrates and SRAM array portions having field effect transistors with linked bodies and method for making same

An integrated circuit, comprising: a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of last metal conductors disposed above said substrate, a bottom metallic layer disposed on said last metal conductors, a top metallic layer, and an alpha absorber disposed between said bottom and top metallic layers, said alpha absorber consisting essentially of a high-purity metal which is an alpha-particle absorber. The metal is, for example, of Ta, W, Re, Os or Ir.

Alpha particle shield for integrated circuit

A semiconductor device includes interconnected conductor lines comprising a lower Interlayer Dielectric (ILD) layer having a top surface formed on a substrate. Several lower conductor lines are formed on the top surface of the lower ILD layer surrounded by an insulator formed on the lower ILD layer. Each of a set of resistive studs has sidewalls, a lower end and an upper end and it is joined to the top of the lower conductor line at the lower end. There are several intermediate conductor lines formed between the resistive studs separated from adjacent studs by a liner layer and a capacitor dielectric layer. Upper conductor lines are formed on a upper level. Each has a bottom surface in contact with a corresponding one of the resistive studs. A central ILD layer is formed below the intermediate conductor to electrically insulate and separate the intermediate conductor lines from the lower conductor lines. A upper ILD layer overlies the intermediate conductor for electrically insulating and separating the intermediate conductor lines from the upper conductor lines. The resistive stud, the capacitor dielectric, and the intermediate conductor across the capacitor dielectric layer and the liner layer form an electrically porous, distributed resistive-capacitive low-pass decoupling network.

Electrically porous on-chip decoupling/shielding layer

A process for producing a multi-level semiconductor device having metal interconnections with insulating passivation layers and the product produced thereby. The product and process improve the resistance of the metallization interconnections to extrusion-short electromigration failures by preventing the insulating passivation layers from cracking. The product and process also reduce the level of resistance saturation or the maximum resistance shift caused by electromigration. By replacing wide-line metallization interconnection conducting lines surrounded by insulating passivation layers with two or more narrow, parallel conducting lines having aspect ratios less than or equal to unity with passivation layers located in between, the incidence of passivation cracking and extrusion-short failures is reduced. The process is especially suited for use in multi-level wiring structures in which the wiring levels have diffusion barriers between the wiring levels caused by redundant metallization layers, interlevel connections, or both.

Process for producing metal interconnections and product produced thereby

Growing community of inventors

Mount Kisco, NY, United States of America

Richard Andre Wachnik