IP Library Granted Patent US 7,687,864
Granted Patent B2
US 7,687,864 · App. 11/371,078 · Granted Mar 30, 2010

Semiconductor integrated circuit device, and apparatus and program for designing same

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,687,864
App. No.
11/371,078
Granted
Mar 30, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed are a design method and apparatus in which information regarding a cell is input, the cell having taps in a substrate surface, for supplying the potentials of respective ones of wells in which active elements are formed, and source diffusion regions in the substrate surface, conductivity types thereof being opposite those of the wells. The taps are converted to conductivity types identical with those of the source diffusion regions to obtain source regions and freely set the well potentials of the cell to any potentials. If the cell is one having shorting portions electrically connecting taps and sources and the shorting portions are diffusion regions of the same conductivity type as that of the taps, then the shorting portions are converted to conductivity types identical with those of the source diffusion regions to obtain source regions.

Claims (47)

1. A semiconductor integrated circuit device, comprising:

a second cell, including:

a well formed in a substrate;

a converted tap converted from a tap of a first cell in a cell library; and

a source diffusion region of an active element formed in said well, a conductivity type of said converted tap being identical with that of said source diffusion region; and

wherein the conductivity type of the converted tap is identical with a conductivity type of a source diffusion region of the first cell, said first cell including:

a well formed in a substrate;

the tap for supplying a potential of said well of the first cell; and

the source diffusion region of the first cell comprising an active element formed in said well of the first cell and having a conductivity type opposite that of said well of the first cell,

wherein, within the second cell, an impurity diffusion region that constitutes said converted tap extends to said source diffusion region of the second cell to electrically connect the converted tap to at least a portion of said source diffusion region of the second cell.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said second cell further comprises another tap for supplying a potential of said well in said second cell, at a position separate from that of said converted tap replaced by said source diffusion region.

3. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the another tap of the second cell is configured to supply the well of the second cell with any well potential.

4. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising a tap cell which supplies a potential of said well of the second cell, separate from said second cell.

5. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said tap in said first cell comprises one or a plurality of tap cells each having an impurity diffusion region and a contact; and

said second cell is such that said tap cell in said first cell is replaced by a substitute tap cell having an impurity diffusion region a conductivity type of which is identical with that of said source diffusion region, and a contact.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein within said first cell, an impurity diffusion region that constitutes said tap extends to said source diffusion region of the first cell to contact the tap to said source diffusion region of the first cell at least at one portion thereof.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein an interconnect, which is laid on an interconnect layer provided on an upper layer of the substrate and supplies said source diffusion region with power-supply potential, is disposed so as to overlap said source diffusion region and seen from above the substrate,

wherein said interconnect that supplies said source diffusion region with the power-supply potential and said source diffusion region are disposed to extend over a plurality of mutually adjacent cells and

wherein the tap that supplies the potential of said well of the second cell is freely supplied with a potential different from a potential supplied to said source diffusion region of the second cell.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the second cell further comprises a shorting region connecting and having the same conductivity type and polarity as the converted tap and the source diffusion region of the second cell.

9. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the first cell further comprises a shorting region connecting, and having the same conductivity type as one of, the tap and the source diffusion region of the first cell.

10. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the tap exclusively electrically connects said source diffusion region of the first cell to outside of the first cell, and

wherein a polarity of the converted tap is identical with a polarity of the source diffusion region of the first cell.

11. A semiconductor integrated circuit device comprising:

a first cell; and

a second cell, including:

a well formed in a substrate;

a converted tap converted from a tap of the first cell in a cell library; and

a source diffusion region of an active element formed in said well, a conductivity type of said converted tap being identical with that of said source diffusion region,

wherein, the conductivity type of the converted tap is identical with that of a source diffusion region of the first cell, said first cell including:

a well formed in a substrate;

the tap for supplying a potential of said well of the first cell; and

the source diffusion region of the first cell comprising an active element formed in said well of the first cell and having a conductivity type opposite that of said well of the first cell,

wherein, within the second cell, an impurity diffusion region that constitutes said converted tap extends to said source diffusion region of the second cell to electrically connect the converted tap to at least a portion of said source diffusion region of the second cell.

12. The device according to claim 11 , wherein the second cell further comprises a shorting region connecting and having the same conductivity type and polarity as the converted tap and the source diffusion region of the second cell.

13. The device according to claim 11 , wherein the first cell further comprises a shorting region connecting, and having the same conductivity type as one of, the tap and the source diffusion region of the first cell.

14. The device according to claim 11 , wherein within the first cell, an impurity diffusion region that constitutes the tap of the first cell extends to said source diffusion region of the first cell to electrically connect the tap to at least a portion of the source diffusion region of the first cell.

15. The device according to claim 11 , wherein said second cell further comprises another tap for supplying the potential of said well in said second cell, at a position separate from that of said converted tap replaced by said source diffusion region of the second cell.

16. The device according to claim 15 , wherein the another tap of the second cell is configured to supply the well of the second cell with any well potential.

17. The device according to claim 11 , further comprising a tap cell which supplies a potential of said well of the second cell, separate from said second cell.

18. The device according to claim 11 , wherein said tap in said first cell comprises one or a plurality of tap cells each having an impurity diffusion region and a contact, and

wherein said second cell is such that said tap cell in said first cell is replaced by a substitute tap cell having an impurity diffusion region the conductivity type of which is identical with that of said source diffusion region of the first cell, and the contact.

19. The device according to claim 11 , wherein an interconnect that is formed on an interconnect layer provided on an upper layer of the substrate and that supplies said source diffusion region of the second cell with power-supply potential is disposed so as to overlap said source diffusion region of the second cell and seen from above the substrate,

wherein said interconnect that supplies said source diffusion region of the second cell with the power-supply potential and said source diffusion region of the second cell are disposed to extend over a plurality of mutually adjacent cells, and

wherein the tap that supplies the potential of said well of the second cell is freely supplied with a potential different from the potential supplied to said source diffusion region of the second cell.

20. The device according to claim 11 , wherein the tap exclusively electrically connects said source diffusion region of the first cell to outside of the first cell, and

wherein a polarity of the converted tap is identical with a polarity of the source diffusion region of the first cell.

Assignments (3)
CHANGE OF ADDRESS Recorded Nov 29, 2017
From: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
To: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 044928/0001 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 4, 2010
From: NEC ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
To: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 025311/0815 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 9, 2006
From: YAMAMOTO, HIROSHI
To: NEC ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 017623/0203 →