Electronic design automation (EDA) of the present disclosure, in various embodiments, optimizes designing, simulating, analyzing, and verifying of one or more electronic architectural designs for an electronic device. The EDA of the present disclosure identifies one or more electronic architectural features from the one or more electronic architectural designs. In some situations, the EDA of the present disclosure can manipulate one or more electronic architectural models over multiple iterations using a machine learning process until one or more electronic architectural models from among the one or more electronic architectural models satisfy one or more electronic design targets. The EDA of the present disclosure substitutes the one or more electronic architectural models that satisfy the one or more electronic design targets for the one or more electronic architectural features in the one or more electronic architectural designs to optimize the one or more electronic architectural designs. The EDA of the present disclosure can substitute the one or more electronic architectural models before, during, and/or after designing, simulating, analyzing, and/or verifying of the one or more electronic architectural designs to effectively decrease the time to market (TTM) for the electronic device.

Provided is a semiconductor integrated circuit device including a nanowire field effect transistor (FET) and having a layout configuration effective for making manufacturing the device easy. A standard cell having no logical function is disposed adjacent to a standard cell having a logical function. The standard cell includes nanowire FETs having nanowires and pads. The standard cell further includes dummy pads, which have no contribution to a logical function of a circuit.

A semiconductor integrated circuit device including standard cells including fin transistors includes, at a cell row end, a cell-row-terminating cell that does not contribute to a logical function of a circuit block. The cell-row-terminating cell includes a plurality of fins extending in an X direction. Ends of the plurality of fins on the inner side of the circuit block are near a gate structure placed at a cell end and do not overlap with the gate structure in a plan view, and ends of the plurality of fins on an outer side of the circuit block overlap with any one of a gate structure in a plan view.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate having cell areas and power areas that are alternately arranged in a second direction. Gate structures extend in the second direction. The gate structures are spaced apart from each other in a first direction perpendicular to the second direction. Junction layers are arranged at both sides of each gate structure. The junction layers are arranged in the second direction such that each of the junction layer has a flat portion that is proximate to the power area. Cutting patterns are arranged in the power areas. The cutting patterns extend in the first direction such that each of the gate structures and each of the junction layers in neighboring cell areas are separated from each other by the cutting pattern.

A semiconductor device includes a first gate electrode disposed on a substrate and extending in a first horizontal direction, a first gate contact and a dummy gate contact, which are spaced apart from each other in the first horizontal direction and are in contact with a top surface of the first gate electrode, a first interconnect line extending in a second horizontal direction and overlapping the first gate contact in a vertical direction with respect to the upper surface of the substrate, and a voltage generator configured to generate a first voltage and apply the first voltage to the first gate electrode via the first interconnect line and the first gate contact. The first gate electrode receives the first voltage via the first interconnect line and the first gate contact from the voltage generator. The dummy gate contact receives the first voltage via the first gate electrode.

Provided is a semiconductor integrated circuit device including a nanowire field effect transistor (FET) and having a layout configuration effective for making manufacturing the device easy. A standard cell having no logical function is disposed adjacent to a standard cell having a logical function. The standard cell includes nanowire FETs having nanowires and pads. The standard cell further includes dummy pads, which have no contribution to a logical function of a circuit.

A semiconductor device includes dielectric layers and local interconnects that are stacked over a substrate alternatively, and extend along a top surface of the substrate laterally. Sidewalls of the dielectric layers and sidewalls of the local interconnects have a staircase configuration. The local interconnects are spaced apart from each other by dielectric layers and have uncovered portions by the dielectric layers. The semiconductor device also includes conductive layers selectively positioned over the uncovered portions of the local interconnects, where sidewalls of the conductive layers and sidewalls of the local interconnects are coplanar. The semiconductor device further includes isolation caps that extend from the dielectric layers. The isolation caps are positioned along sidewalls of the conductive layers and sidewalls of the local interconnects so as to separate the conductive layers from one another.

Provided is a layout configuration that helps facilitate manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device including a nanowire FET. A nanowire FET in a standard cell includes Na (where Na is an integer of 2 or more) nanowires extending in an X direction, and a nanowire FET in a standard cell includes Nb (where Nb is an integer of 1 or more and less than Na) nanowires extending in the X direction. At least one of both ends, in the Y direction, of a pad of the nanowire FET is aligned in the X direction with an associated one of both ends, in the Y direction, of a pad of the nanowire FET.

An integrated circuit device includes a first device and a second device. The first device is disposed within a first circuit region, the first device including a plurality of first semiconductor strips extending longitudinally in a first direction. Adjacent ones of the plurality of first semiconductor strips are spaced apart from each other in a second direction, which is generally perpendicular to the first direction. The second device is disposed within a second circuit region, the second circuit region being adjacent to the first circuit region in the first direction. The second device includes a second semiconductor strip extending longitudinally in the first direction. A projection of a longitudinal axis of the second semiconductor strip along the first direction lies in a space separating the adjacent ones of the plurality of first semiconductor strips.

A semiconductor integrated circuit device including standard cells including fin transistors includes, at a cell row end, a cell-row-terminating cell that does not contribute to a logical function of a circuit block. The cell-row-terminating cell includes a plurality of fins extending in an X direction. Ends of the plurality of fins on the inner side of the circuit block are near a gate structure placed at a cell end and do not overlap with the gate structure in a plan view, and ends of the plurality of fins on an outer side of the circuit block overlap with any one of a gate structure in a plan view.