A CMOS FET master slice integrated circuit (20) of the gate-array type implemented in a semiconductor logic chip, comprises a plurality of core cells (CELL1, CELL2, . . . ) arranged adjacent one another on a repetitive basis in a row direction to form horizontal stripe shaped functional gate region (21) of a determined height (H). Each core cell (e.g., CELL1) is comprised of four different sized devices: one small and one large NFET (N1.1, N2.1), thus one small and one larger PFET (P1.1, P2.1), that are disposed in a column direction. The NFETs have separate gate electrodes (GN1.1, GN2.1) to define individual devices, while the PFETs have preferably a common gate electrode (GP1) to define a single device. The relative size of NFETs and PFETs have been optimized to provide the required functionality to the latches and to ensure the balanced rise and fall delays in a maximum of basic logic circuits of the chip. As a result, the use of such core cells, allows that complex logic functions, such as latches, can be implemented in gate arrays that have a density and performance comparable with standard cell circuits. In addition, the use of these core cells also permits optimization of other basic logic circuits (INV, NOR, . . . ) that are used in critical logic paths and clock distribution trees, where balanced delays are highly desirable.