Grounding front-end-of-line structures on a SOI substrate

A method of grounding a silicon active region within a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate prior to contact dielectric formation, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing the SOI substrate including a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) layer and a buried oxide (BOX) layer, the SOI substrate positioned over a grounded bulk silicon substrate;
• forming the silicon active region having at least one finger element within the SOI layer, the at least one finger element isolated by a shallow trench isolation (STI) layer;
• and
• forming a polysilicon ground intersecting the at least one finger element and extending through the STI layer and the BOX layer to the grounded bulk silicon substrate, the polysilicon ground contacting the silicon active region and the grounded bulk silicon substrate.

A structure for grounding a gate stack through a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, the structure comprising:

• a bulk silicon substrate having the SOI substrate thereover, the SOI substrate including a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) layer on top of a buried oxide (BOX) layer;
• a polysilicon ground extending through the SOI layer and the BOX layer to the bulk silicon substrate;
• and
• a gate oxide layer of the gate stack on an upper surface of the polysilicon ground, the gate oxide layer being insufficiently insulative to prevent electrical conductivity therethrough,
• wherein the gate stack contacts the polysilicon oxide layer.