EMBEDDED MEMORY DEVICE WITH REDUCED PLASMA-INDUCED DAMAGE AND METHODS OF FORMING THE SAME

A semiconductor device and methods of fabrication thereof including a substrate, a doped well formed in the substrate, a transistor formed on the substrate, a dielectric material located over the doped well and the transistor and including interconnect structures extending through the dielectric material, the interconnect structures including a first set of interconnect structures electrically coupled to an active region of the transistor and a second set of interconnect structures electrically coupled to the doped well, an active memory cell electrically coupled to the active region of the transistor via the first set of interconnect structures; and a dummy memory cell electrically coupled to the doped well via the second set of conductive interconnect structures. The dummy memory cell and the second set of conductive interconnect structures may provide a low resistance pathway for plasma charge to flow to the doped well, thereby minimizing plasma induced damage to the transistor.