An integrated circuit includes a complex logic cell. The complex logic cell includes a first logic circuit providing a first output signal from a first input signal group and a common input signal group, and a second logic circuit providing a second output signal from a second input signal group and the common input signal group. The first and second logic circuits respectively include first and second transistors formed from a gate electrode, the gate electrode extending in a first direction and receiving a first common input signal of the common input signal group.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate having an active region, a first group of standard cells arranged in a first row on the active region of the substrate and having a first height defined in a column direction, a second group of standard cells arranged in a second row on the active region of the substrate, and having a second height, and a plurality of power lines extending in a row direction and respectively extending along boundaries of the first and the second groups of standard cells. The first and second groups of standard cells each further include a plurality of wiring lines extending in the row direction and arranged in the column direction, and at least some of wiring lines in at least one standard cell of the first and second groups of standard cells are arranged at different spacings and/or pitches.

A method is provided, and including operations as below: forming multiple active areas extending in a first direction; forming multiple conductive patterns extending in a second direction different from the first direction and arranged in a first layer above the active areas; forming multiple gates extending parallel to the conductive patterns; and forming a first set of conductive lines extending in the first direction and arranged in three first metal tracks that are in a second layer above the first layer, wherein one of the first set of conductive lines is arranged in a middle track of the three first metal tracks, coupled to one of the gates and overlap a first shallow trench region between two of the active areas.

The semiconductor structure includes a plurality of FETs disposed on a semiconductor substrate, the FETs including gates with elongated shape oriented in a first direction; a first metal layer of first metal lines disposed over the gates and oriented in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a second metal layer of second metal lines disposed over the first metal layer and oriented in the first direction; and a third metal layer of third metal lines oriented in the second direction and disposed over the second metal layer. The first metal lines have a first pitch P.sub.1; the second metal lines have a second pitch P.sub.2; the third metal lines have a third pitch P.sub.3; and the gates have a fourth pitch P.sub.4, wherein a ratio of the second pitch over the fourth pitch P.sub.2:P.sub.4 is about 3:2.

An integrated circuit (IC) power distribution network is disclosed. In one aspect, the IC includes a stack of layers formed on a substrate. The IC includes standard cells with parallel gate structures oriented in a direction y. Each cell includes an internal power pin for supplying a reference voltage to the cell. The stack includes metal layers in which lines are formed to route signals between cells. The lines in each metal layer have a preferred orientation that is orthogonal to that of the lines in an adjacent metal layer. A first layer is the lowest metal layer that has y as a preferred orientation while also providing routing resources for signal routing between the cells. A second layer is the nearest metal layer above this first layer. The IC includes a power distribution network for delivering the reference voltage to the power pin.

An integrated circuit including a first standard cell including, first transistors, the first transistors being first unfolded transistors, a first metal pin, a second metal pin, and a third metal pin on a first layer, the first metal pin and the second metal pin having a first minimum metal center-to-metal center pitch therebetween less than or equal to 80 nm, a fourth metal pin and a fifth metal pin at a second layer, the fourth metal pin and the fifth metal pin extending in a second direction, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction, a first via between the first metal pin and the fourth metal pin, and a second via between the third metal pin and the fifth metal pin such that a first via center-to-via center space between the first via and the second via is greater than double the first minimum metal center-to-metal center pitch.

A process for making and using a semiconductor wafer includes instantiating first and second designs of experiments (DOES), each comprised of at least two fill cells. The fill cells contain structures configured to obtain in-line data via non-contact electrical measurements (“NCEM”). The first DOE contains fill cells configured to enable non-contact (NC) detection of via opens, and the second DOE contains fill cells configured to enable NC detection of stitch opens. The process may further include obtaining NC measurements from the first and/or second DOE(s) and using such measurements, at least in part, to selectively perform additional processing, metrology or inspection steps on the wafer, and/or on other wafer(s) currently being manufactured.

The disclosure relates to an integrated circuit comprising: a first voltage terminal; a second voltage terminal; and a plurality of logic cells, comprising one or more field effect transistors having a p-type channel and one or more field effect transistors having an n-type channel. The plurality of logic cells comprises a regular subset of cells and a spare subset of cells. Electrical connectors are arranged to: connect the gates of the regular subset of cells in order to provide a functional logic arrangement; connect the gates of the one or more field effect transistors having a p-type channel of the spare subset of cells to the first voltage terminal; and connect the gates of the one or more field effect transistors having an n-type channel of the spare subset of cells to the second voltage terminal.

A semiconductor device, and a method of manufacturing the same, includes first and second gate structures extending in a first direction and spaced apart from each other in a second direction intersecting the first direction, a dummy gate structure provided between the first and second gate structures, a first source/drain region between the first gate structure and the dummy gate structure, a second source/drain region between the second gate structure and the dummy gate structure, a connection contact provided on the dummy gate structure, and a common conductive line provided on the connection contact. The dummy gate structure extends in the first direction. The connection contact extends in the second direction to connect the first source/drain region to the second source/drain region. The common conductive line configured to a voltage to the first and second source/drain regions through the connection contact.

An integrated circuit includes a first standard cell including a first first-type transistor, a first second-type transistor, a third second-type transistor, and a third first-type transistor, a second standard cell including a second first-type transistor, a second second-type transistor, a fourth second-type transistor and a fourth first-type transistor, a plurality of wiring layers which are disposed on the first and second standard cells and includes a first wiring layer, a second wiring layer, and a third wiring layer sequentially stacked. A source contact of the first first-type transistor and a source contact of the second first-type transistor are electrically connected through a first power rail of the plurality of wiring layers, and a source contact of the third first-type transistor and a source contact of the fourth first-type transistor are electrically connected through a second power rail of the plurality of wiring layers.