Patent ID: 8286114

Claim:
A method of generating a layout of a semiconductor device having three-dimensional active areas, the method comprising the steps of: determining a number of three-dimensional structures defining desired three-dimensional active areas of the device; creating an equivalent planar device design based upon the number of three-dimensional structures defining the desired three-dimensional active areas, wherein the equivalent planar device design has an active area size substantially equivalent to a size of the three-dimensional active areas plus any intermediate isolation areas; and converting the equivalent planar device design to a three-dimensional design, wherein converting the equivalent planar device design to a three-dimensional design includes: receiving a first layout having one or more planar active areas designated thereon; determining a width of each planar active area, wherein the width of each planar active area is based upon the number of three-dimensional structures defining at least one of the desired three-dimensional active areas plus any intermediate isolation areas, wherein determining the width of each planar active area is based on a model equation expressed as: y ≡( A×B )+(( A −1)× C ) wherein y denotes the width, A denotes the number of three-dimensional structures, B denotes a width of each of the three-dimensional structures, and C denotes a width of each of the intermediate isolation areas; determining a corresponding number of the three-dimensional active areas such that the width of each of the planar active areas is substantially equivalent to a width of a total area occupied by the respective three-dimensional active areas plus isolation regions located between adjacent three-dimensional active areas in a plan view, the three-dimensional active areas and isolation regions extending across an entire length of the planar active area, replacing the first layout with a second layout, the second layout replacing the one or more planar active areas with the respective three-dimensional active areas and isolation regions located between adjacent three-dimensional active areas in a plan view, wherein all of the three-dimensional active areas within each respective planar active area have a length extending across the entire length of the planar active area and all of the isolation regions within each respective planar active area have a length extending across the entire length of the planar active area such that the respective lengths of the three-dimensional active areas and the isolation regions are substantially equal, wherein the replacing is performed at least in part by a CAD tool or an optical confinement tool.