METHOD OF USING FILLLER METAL FOR IMPLEMENTING CHANGES IN AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DESIGN
First Claim
1. A method of fabricating photolithography masks for an integrated circuit, the method comprising:
- (a) fabricating a set of routing layer masks, which define conductive segments including signal segments, power supply segments and filler segments on various routing layers of the integrated circuit, wherein the filler segments are located in areas unused by the signal segments and the power supply segments;
(b) fabricating a first via mask, which defines electrical connections between the conductive segments on at least two of the routing layers, including connections between the filler segments on one of the layers and the power supply segments on another of the layers;
(c) changing a signal net on the integrated circuit after fabricating at least one of the routing layer masks and the first via mask; and
(d) fabricating a second via mask to replace the first via mask, which decouples a first of the filler segments from a first of the power supply segments and couples the first filler segment into the signal net.
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Abstract
A method is provided for fabricating an integrated circuit having a logical function. The method includes fabricating first and second routing layer masks and a first via mask. The first routing layer mask includes power supply segments and signal segments. The second routing layer mask includes signal segments and filler segments, wherein the filler segments are located in unused areas of the second routing layer mask. The first via mask defines vias that electrically couple the filler segments to the power supply segments. If the logical function is changed after the masks have been fabricated, a second via mask is fabricated. The second via mask decouples a filler segment from the power supply segments and couples the filler segment to a signal segment defined by the first routing layer mask to implement the logical function change. The integrated circuit is then fabricated with the first and second routing layer masks and the second via mask.
44 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating photolithography masks for an integrated circuit, the method comprising:
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(a) fabricating a set of routing layer masks, which define conductive segments including signal segments, power supply segments and filler segments on various routing layers of the integrated circuit, wherein the filler segments are located in areas unused by the signal segments and the power supply segments;
(b) fabricating a first via mask, which defines electrical connections between the conductive segments on at least two of the routing layers, including connections between the filler segments on one of the layers and the power supply segments on another of the layers;
(c) changing a signal net on the integrated circuit after fabricating at least one of the routing layer masks and the first via mask; and
(d) fabricating a second via mask to replace the first via mask, which decouples a first of the filler segments from a first of the power supply segments and couples the first filler segment into the signal net. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit having a logical function, the method comprising:
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(a) fabricating first and second routing layer masks and a first via mask, wherein the first routing layer mask comprises power supply segments and signal segments, the second routing layer mask comprises signal segments and filler segments, wherein the filler segments are located in unused areas of the second routing layer mask, and the first via mask defines vias that electrically couple the filler segments to the power supply segments;
(b) changing the logical function after step (a);
(c) fabricating a second via mask, which decouples a first of the filler segments from the power supply segments and couples the first filler segment to a first of the signal segments defined by the first routing layer mask to implement the logical function change in step (b); and
(d) fabricating the integrated circuit with the first and second routing layer masks and the second via mask. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A collection of masks for fabricating a portion of an integrated circuit, the collection of masks comprising:
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a first routing layer mask defining conductive segments, including a plurality of signal segments and at least one power supply segment;
a second routing layer mask defining conductive segments, including a plurality of signal segments and at least one filler segment located in an area unused by the signal segments;
a first via mask, which defines locations of conductive vias between the conductive segments defined by the first and second routing layer masks, including a first via that couples the filler segment to the power supply segment; and
a second via mask which replaces the first via mask, wherein the second via mask eliminates the first via and adds a second via that couples the filler segment to one of the signal segments defined by the first routing layer mask instead of the power supply segment. - View Dependent Claims (12, 15)
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Specification