Integrated circuit having tap cells and a method for positioning tap cells in an integrated circuit

摘要

An integrated circuit includes a set of standard cells, referred to as tap cells, each having a well tap and a substrate tap for coupling a well region and a substrate region to a power source and ground, respectively. The tap cells are disposed at intervals that do not exceed a maximum allowable distance as specified by a set of design rules associated with the integrated circuit. A method for designing the integrated circuit includes determining the positions at which the tap cells will be fixed and creating a design layout for the integrated circuit using a place and route tool that incorporates the positions.