The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 30, 2012
Filed:
Jun. 23, 2005
Howard S. Landis, Underhill, VT (US);
David Parker, South Burlington, VT (US);
Jeanne-tania Sucharitaves, Williston, VT (US);
Howard S. Landis, Underhill, VT (US);
David Parker, South Burlington, VT (US);
Jeanne-Tania Sucharitaves, Williston, VT (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A method, system and program product for replacing isotropic hole shapes in a wiring layout with non-equiaxial hole shapes that are arranged in a direction of current flow, which increases current flow along the wire's longitudinal axis while decreasing current flow along the wire's transverse axis. One aspect of the invention includes a method including determining a direction of electrical current flow in a portion of a wiring layout; and placing at least one non-equiaxial hole shape within the portion of the wiring layout, wherein the non-equiaxial hole shape is arranged in the direction of electrical current flow. The invention accommodates the limitations of copper CMP within an automated tool without sacrificing the efficiency of a hand-tuned layout. The invention also includes a semiconductor device including at least one non-equiaxial hole shape.