Patent Abstract:
A method includes defining an array including a plurality of unit cells, receiving unit cell density parameters in a computing apparatus, and defining a plurality of sub-arrays of unit cells using the computing apparatus. The computing apparatus defines density features disposed between adjacent sub-arrays. The computing apparatus generates density feature density parameters based on the unit cell density parameters and at least one density limit.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not applicable. 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The disclosed subject matter relates generally to semiconductor device manufacturing and, more particularly, to a cell array with density features and a method for instantiating the cell array. 
         [0004]    Integrated circuit devices are typically designed using a combination of automated design techniques and manual design techniques. One type of structure commonly designed using an automated design technique is a parameterized cell (pcell). Parameterized cells are generally laid out using an array structure, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . An array  100  includes a plurality of unit cells  110  grouped into sub-arrays  120 , each having n×m unit cells  110 . Sub-arrays  120  are then replicated in a row  130  and column  140  arrangement. The total number of unit cells  110  in the array  100  is i×j. In some structures, certain parameters of each cell  110 , such as resistance, structure length, structure width, etc. may vary across the array  100 , while in others, the cell parameters may be fixed. 
         [0005]    Conventionally, unit cells are instantiated into closely-packed sub-arrays and arrays to minimize overall array size. In such designs, a component in a certain design layer of a unit cell can exclude other components in different design layers from being placed in its proximity. One example is a poly-silicon (PC) shape in a poly-resistor (PR) cell that excludes diffusion (RX). This restriction can consistently block components in a certain design layer and create a continuous keep-out zone for the design layer throughout the array. This arrangement may result in yield loss, because stringent layout pattern uniformity is required for several key design layers. The large keep-out zone can result in a violation of the pattern uniformity requirement. In the example of a poly resistor array, a large void of diffusion in the array can cause a diffusion minimum density rule violation. On the other side of the density rule spectrum, a unit cell with a design component that occupies a large fraction of the cell area can result in a maximum density rule violation when instantiated as an array. 
         [0006]    Many times designers only find these maximum and minimum density rule violations at a very late stage in the design cycle when pattern uniformity is checked by a design rule checker (DRC). The need to rearrange the cell arrays to address a density issue at such a late stage is a frequent reason for a delay in completing a design. 
         [0007]    This section of this document is intended to introduce various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the disclosed subject matter described and/or claimed below. This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the disclosed subject matter. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. The disclosed subject matter is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0008]    The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosed subject matter in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed subject matter. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of the disclosed subject matter. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosed subject matter or to delineate the scope of the disclosed subject matter. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is discussed later. 
         [0009]    One aspect of the disclosed subject matter is seen in a method that includes defining an array including a plurality of unit cells, receiving unit cell density parameters in a computing apparatus, and defining a plurality of sub-arrays of unit cells using the computing apparatus. The computing apparatus defines density features disposed between adjacent sub-arrays. The computing apparatus generates density feature density parameters based on the unit cell density parameters and at least one density limit. 
         [0010]    Another aspect of the disclosed subject matter is seen a semiconductor device including an array of cells. The array includes a plurality of sub-arrays of the cells and density features disposed between adjacent sub-arrays. 
         [0011]    Yet another aspect of the disclosed subject matter is seen in a system including a computing apparatus operable to define an array including a plurality of unit cells, receive unit cell density parameters, define a plurality of sub-arrays of unit cells, and define density features disposed between adjacent sub-arrays. The density feature density parameters for the density features are generated based on the unit cell density parameters and at least one density limit. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The disclosed subject matter will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements, and: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a simplified diagram of a conventional array of cells; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a simplified diagram of an array of cells including density features disposed between sub-arrays of the cells in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present subject matter; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a simplified block diagram of a computing system adapted to perform a method for instantiating the array of  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
       [0016]    While the disclosed subject matter is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the disclosed subject matter to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter as defined by the appended claims. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    One or more specific embodiments of the disclosed subject matter will be described below. It is specifically intended that the disclosed subject matter not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein, but include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. Nothing in this application is considered critical or essential to the disclosed subject matter unless explicitly indicated as being “critical” or “essential.” 
         [0018]    The disclosed subject matter will now be described with reference to the attached figures. Various structures, systems and devices are schematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation only and so as to not obscure the disclosed subject matter with details that are well known to those skilled in the art. Nevertheless, the attached drawings are included to describe and explain illustrative examples of the disclosed subject matter. The words and phrases used herein should be understood and interpreted to have a meaning consistent with the understanding of those words and phrases by those skilled in the relevant art. No special definition of a term or phrase, i.e., a definition that is different from the ordinary and customary meaning as understood by those skilled in the art, is intended to be implied by consistent usage of the term or phrase herein. To the extent that a term or phrase is intended to have a special meaning, i.e., a meaning other than that understood by skilled artisans, such a special definition will be expressly set forth in the specification in a definitional manner that directly and unequivocally provides the special definition for the term or phrase. 
         [0019]    Portions of the detailed description are presented in terms of software, or algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These descriptions and representations are the ones by which those of ordinary skill in the art effectively convey the substance of their work to others of ordinary skill in the art. An algorithm, as the term is used here, and as it is used generally, is conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of optical, electrical, or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. 
         [0020]    It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise, or as is apparent from the discussion, terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical, electronic quantities within the computer system&#39;s registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. 
         [0021]    Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numbers correspond to similar components throughout the several views and, specifically, referring to  FIG. 2 , the disclosed subject matter shall be described in the context of an array  200  including a plurality of unit cells  210  grouped into sub-arrays  220 , each having n×m unit cells  110 . Sub-arrays  220  are replicated in a row  230  and column  240  arrangement. The total number of unit cells  210  in the array  200  is i×j. A density feature  250  is provided between columns  240  of the array  200 . 
         [0022]    The present example is described as it may be applied to an array  200  of parameterized cells (pcells), however, the application of the present subject matter is not limited to pcells, and other types of unit cells  210 , such as memory cells, may be employed. With respect to the pcell example, in some embodiments, certain parameters of each cell  210 , such as resistance, structure length, structure width, etc. may vary across the array  200 , while in others, the cell parameters may be fixed. One exemplary array type includes an array of bipolar devices having diffusion regions, without polysilicon features. Another exemplary array type is an array of large decoupling capacitors (decaps) including polysilicon features and diffusion regions. 
         [0023]    In general, the density features  250  are provided to affect the pattern density of the array  200 . The density features  250  may represent an unoccupied region of the semiconductor device to decrease the net pattern density, or the density feature  250  may include features, such as polysilicon features or resistor elements, etc. 
         [0024]    Turning now to  FIG. 3 , a simplified diagram of a computing apparatus  300  for determining density requirements for semiconductor devices is provided. The computing apparatus  300  includes a processor  305  communicating with storage  310  over a bus system  315 . The storage  310  may include a hard disk and/or random access memory (“RAM”) and/or removable storage, such as a magnetic disk  320  or an optical disk  325 . The storage  310  is also encoded with an operating system  330 , user interface software  335 , and a density application  365 . The user interface software  335 , in conjunction with a display  340 , implements a user interface  345 . The user interface  345  may include peripheral I/O devices such as a keypad or keyboard  350 , mouse  355 , etc. The processor  305  runs under the control of the operating system  330 , which may be practically any operating system known in the art. The density application  365  is invoked by the operating system  330  upon power up, reset, user interaction, etc., depending on the implementation of the operating system  330 . The application  365 , when invoked, performs a method of the present subject matter. The user may invoke the density application  365  in conventional fashion through the user interface  345 . Note that although a stand-alone system is illustrated, there is no need for the data to reside on the same computing apparatus  300  as the density application  365  by which it is processed. Some embodiments of the present subject matter may therefore be implemented on a distributed computing system with distributed storage and/or processing capabilities. 
         [0025]    It is contemplated that, in some embodiments, the density application  365  may be executed by the computing apparatus  300  to implement one or more of the techniques described herein. Data for the density application  365  may be stored on a computer readable storage device (e.g., storage  310 , disks  320 ,  325 , solid state storage, and the like). 
         [0026]    In the illustrated embodiment, the density application  365  employs a linear mixed-integer programming model for determining density parameters for the array  200 , such as the spacing, Sn, defined by the density features  250  and the density, Dn, of any non-functional shapes included in the density features  250 . In such an optimization based approach, solutions are driven by a plurality of objectives. Constraints are defined that serve as conditions to narrow down the solution scope. With a commercially or publicly available solver, a linear (i.e., either integer or non-integer) solution can be identified within the solution scope. For example, the OSL solver offered by IBM, Corporation is a commercially available software tool that may be used. For purposes of the following description, the following notation list provided in Table 1 identifies symbols used in the following objective and constraint equations. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Notation 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 For a Unit Cell, U, implemented in a design layer, L 
               
               
                 Unit Cell Density Input Parameters 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Wx 
                 Width of U in the x-direction 
               
               
                 Wy 
                 Width of U in the y-direction 
               
               
                 Dn 
                 Pattern Density of L inside U 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Density Limits 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Smin 
                 Minimum space defined by a design rule between a shape 
               
               
                   
                 in L outside of U and U itself 
               
               
                 Dmin 
                 Minimum density value allowed by design rule for L 
               
               
                 Dmax 
                 Maximum density value allowed by design rule for L 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Output Density Parameters of Density Features and Sub-Arrays 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Sn 
                 Width of a density feature 250 to be inserted between 
               
               
                   
                 adjacent unit cells, U for sparsification 
               
               
                 Ds 
                 Pattern Density of L inside density feature 250 
               
               
                 M 
                 Number of U in x-direction across array 
               
               
                 N 
                 Number of U in y-direction across array 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0027]    The density application  365  employs an optimization equation: 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             Maximize 
              
             
                 
             
              
             
               1 
               
                 
                   ( 
                   
                     Sn 
                     + 
                     
                       Wx 
                       · 
                       n 
                     
                   
                   ) 
                 
                 · 
                 
                   ( 
                   
                     Wy 
                     · 
                     m 
                   
                   ) 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
         [0028]    where the denominator of the optimization equation represents an area of a sub-array  220  and the associated density feature  250 . Maximizing the reciprocal of the area effectively minimizes the area. 
         [0029]    The optimization is performed subject to density constraints. 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   Ds 
                   · 
                   Sn 
                 
                 + 
                 
                   Dn 
                   · 
                   Wx 
                   · 
                   n 
                 
               
               
                 Sn 
                 + 
                 
                   Wx 
                   · 
                   n 
                 
               
             
             ≥ 
             
               D 
                
               
                   
               
                
               min 
             
           
         
       
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   Ds 
                   · 
                   Sn 
                 
                 + 
                 
                   Dn 
                   · 
                   Wx 
                   · 
                   n 
                 
               
               
                 Sn 
                 + 
                 
                   Wx 
                   · 
                   n 
                 
               
             
             ≤ 
             
               D 
                
               
                   
               
                
               max 
             
           
         
       
     
         [0030]    The term Ds·Sn·(Wy·m) represents the area of shapes within the density feature  250 . The term Dn·Wx·n·(Wy·m) represents the area of shapes within the sub-array  220 . The term (Sn+Wx·n)·(Wy·m) represents the overall area. In the density constraints, the (Wy·m) term cancels. 
         [0031]    The density of the density feature  250  is a value determined from the design rules and the determined spacing. 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             Ds 
             = 
             
               
                 Sn 
                 - 
                 
                   
                     2 
                     · 
                     S 
                   
                    
                   
                       
                   
                    
                   min 
                 
               
               Sn 
             
           
         
       
     
         [0032]    The overall size of the array  200 , determined by i and j provides an additional constraint the impacts the optimal value of m, n, and Sn. 
         [0033]    In one embodiment, a designer may provide the size of the array  200  to the density application  365  along with the size and density characteristics of the cells  210  and the design rule values. The density application  365  evaluates the objective function and constraints to generate values for m, n, and Sn. 
         [0034]    In another embodiment, the density application  365  uses the density parameters of the cells  210  and the design rule values and iterates the optimization for different array sizes, i.e., different values for i and j to generate a look-up table  370 . A designer can then input the size of the array  200  and receive the values for m, n, and Sn. If the look-up table  370  does not include the desired array size, the density application  365  may be invoked to generate the appropriate values for the specified array size. 
         [0035]    The optimization function is illustrated as it may be implemented for one layer, however, it is contemplated that the input values and/or constraints may have layer subscripts, and may have different values for different layers. The optimization could then be used to generate a solution that spans a plurality of layers. In such an implementation, the density features  250  can be composite cells that include multiple, different shapes in multiple layers. 
         [0036]    Based on the determined values for Sn and Dn, the density application automatically generates shapes in the density features  250  to provide the required density characteristics. For example, in an array  200  including bipolar device unit cells, non-functional lines  400  may be defined, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The lines may be polysilicon to add both minimum polysilicon density and minimum perimeter polysilicon density. In another example, for an array  200  of decoupling capacitors, without adjustment, the array might violate maximum polysilicon density and diffusion region density, while also violating minimum perimeter polysilicon density. The density application  365  can reduce the polysilicon and diffusion region densities and increase the perimeter polysilicon density to satisfy the design rules. The density application  365  may add non-functional decoupling capacitors  500 , defined by the intersection of a line  510  and a diffusion region  520 . If the maximum diffusion region density is reached, the diffusion regions  520  may be omitted. In still other examples, where the unadjusted array  200  would violate maximum density rules, the density feature  250  could be devoid of any features, as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . 
         [0037]    Although the examples provided above address density in one direction by adding vertical density features  250  between adjacent sub-arrays  220 , it is contemplated that the techniques described herein may be adapted for use with both horizontal and vertical density features  250  to address density in both directions of the array. Such a two-dimensional approach would consider overlap between horizontal and vertical density features  250  and their contributions to the overall density. 
         [0038]    In some embodiments, the density application  365  may instantiate the array  200  based on the determined density attributes. Predetermined, non-functional shapes may be added in the density feature  250 . The density application may use different kinds of hardware descriptive languages (HDL) in the process of designing and manufacturing very large scale integration circuits (VLSI circuits), such as semiconductor products and devices and/or other types semiconductor devices including the array  200 . Some examples of HDL are VHDL and Verilog/Verilog-XL, but other HDL formats not listed may be used. In one embodiment, the HDL code (e.g., register transfer level (RTL) code/data) may be used to generate GDS data, GDSII data and the like. GDSII data, for example, is a descriptive file format and may be used in different embodiments to represent a three-dimensional model of a semiconductor product or device. Such models may be used by semiconductor manufacturing facilities to create semiconductor products and/or devices. The GDSII data may be stored as a database or other program storage structure. This data may also be stored on a computer readable storage device (e.g., storage  310 , disks  320 ,  325 , solid state storage, and the like). In one embodiment, the GDSII data (or other similar data) may be adapted to configure a manufacturing facility (e.g., through the use of mask works) to create devices capable of embodying various aspects of the present subject matter. In other words, in various embodiments, this GDSII data (or other similar data) may be programmed into the computing apparatus  300 , and executed by the processor  305  using the density application  365 , which may then control, in whole or part, the operation of a semiconductor manufacturing facility (or fab) to create semiconductor products and devices. For example, in one embodiment, silicon wafers containing the power array  200  may be created using the GDSII data (or other similar data). 
         [0039]    The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the disclosed subject matter may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the disclosed subject matter. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7