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High-density and high-performance single-port and dual-port SRAM increasingly occupy a majority of the chip area in

Key Words: Deep Submicron; SRAM; OPC; Yield; Manufacturability.We have previously presented the smallest and fastest 6 Transistor (6T)-Static Random Access Memories (SRAM) bitcells for System-on-Chip (SoC) high-density (HD) memories in 0.18 µ m and 0.13 µ m technologies 1 . Our 1.87µm 2 6T-SRAM bitcell with cell current of 47µA and industry lowest soft error rate (0.35 FIT/Kbit) is used to assemble memory blocks embedded into SoC designs in 0.13 µ m process technology. Excellent performance is achieved at a low overall cost, as our bitcells are based on standard CMOS process and demonstrate high yields in manufacturing.This paper discusses our methodology of embedded SRAM bitcell design. The key aspects of our approach are: 1) judicious selection of tightest achievable yet manufacturable design rules to build the cell; 2) compatibility with standard Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) flow; 3) use of parametric testing and yield analysis to achieve excellent design robustness and manufacturability.A thorough understanding of process limitations, particularly those related to photolithography was critical to the successful design and manufacturing of our aggressive, yet robust SRAM bitcells. The patterning of critical layers, such as diffusion, poly gate, contact and metal 1 has profound implications on functionality, electrical performance and manufacturability of memories.We have conducted the development of SRAM bitcells using two approaches for OPC: a) 'manual' OPC, wherein the bitcell layout of each of the critical layers is achieved using iterative improvement of layout & aerial image simulation and b) automated OPC-compatible design, wherein the drawn bitcell layout becomes a subject of a full chip OPC. While manual-OPC remains a popular option, automated OPC-compatible bitcell design is very attractive, as it does not require additional development costs to achieve fab-to-fab portability. In both cases we have obtained good results with respect to patterning of the critical layers, electrical performance of the bitcell and memory yields.A critical part of our memory technology development effort is the design of memory-specific test structures that are used for: a) verifying electrical characteristics of SRAM transistors and b) confirming the robustness of the design rules used within the SRAM cell. In addition to electrical test structures, we have a fully functional SRAM test chip called RAMPCM that is composed of sub-blocks each designated to evaluate the robustness of a specific critical design rule used within the bitcells. The results from the electrical testing and RAMPCM yield analysis are used to identify opportunities for improvements in the layout design.The paper will also suggest some techniques that can result in more design friendly OPC solutions. Our work indicates that future IC designs can benefit from an automated OPC tool that can intelligently handle layout modifications according to design priorities.

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&STRACT This paper describes a 90nm System-on-a-chip (SoC) technology with modular quadruple gate oxides (16, 28, 50, 64 8,) on the same chip allowing integration of optimized transistors opaating at supply voltages of I , 1.2, 1.8, 2.5 and 3.3 Volts for different circuit applications. The proposed modular gate oxide process with pre-gate nitrogen implant was shown to he superior to conventional growetch-grow approach in terms of gate leakage current, integrity and interface quality of the multiple gate oxides. A high c u e n t drive of 10201390 pAipm was demonstrated for NIP channel core transistors.