Integrated circuit device with power gating switch in back end of line

摘要

The present invention is related to an integrated circuit device comprising a Front End Of Line portion and a Back End Of Line portion, and further comprising a number of power gating switches arranged to turn blocks of standard cells in the FEOL portion of the IC on or off, i.e. to connect or disconnect said blocks to or from a power supply that is external to the IC. In an IC of the invention, at least one of said power gating switches, and preferably all of said switches are transistors located in the metallization layers of the IC's BEOL portion. Preferably, the source, drain and gate electrodes of the power gating transistors are formed by metal lines or metal-filled via interconnects located within said metallization layers. The presence of the power gating switches in the BEOL portion allows to produce ICs with improved semiconductor area consumption and a decrease in IR losses compared to power gating switches located in the FEOL portion.