Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same

A method, comprising:

• forming a plurality of gates and a plurality of conductive segments above a first active area of a first cell that corresponds to a first circuit, and above a second active area of a second cell that corresponds to a second circuit and abuts with the first cell;
• forming a plurality of signal rails above the first active area and the second active area, wherein the plurality of signal rails comprise a first signal rail and a second signal rail;
• and
• in a layout view,
• forming a first conductive via, in the first cell, within a first region that abuts a first forbidden region of forbidden regions in the second active area, and
• forming a second conductive via, in the second cell, within a second region that abuts a second forbidden region of forbidden regions in the first active area, wherein
• the first conductive via and the second conductive via couple the first signal rail and the second signal rail, respectively, to corresponding gates of the plurality of gates or corresponding conductive segments of the plurality of conductive segments, and
• the first forbidden region is configured where no conductive via corresponding to the first conductive via is disposed, and the second forbidden region is configured where no conductive via corresponding to the second conductive via is disposed.

A method, comprising:

• generating a first circuit of an integrated circuit (IC), comprising:
• in a first cell that abuts a second cell,
• forming a plurality of gates and a plurality of conductive segments above a active area comprising a plurality of forbidden regions;
• and
• in a layout view, when at least one first conductive via is disposed in at least one region of the second cell that abuts the plurality of forbidden regions, disposing at least one second conductive via in the active area and outside the plurality of forbidden regions, to form the at least one second conductive via contacting one of the plurality of gates or the plurality of conductive segments.