Abstract:
A semiconductor device is provided which is formed of a wafer (101) having on a surface thereof an area efficient arrangement of at least two antifuses (121, 122) in vertically stacked relation and sharing a common intermediate electrode (123) therebetween. The arrangement includes at least one lower antifuse (121) having a lower counter electrode (125) and a lower fusible insulator portion (124) defining a lower fuse element of an initial high electrical resistance state which interconnects the lower counter electrode (125) with the common intermediate electrode (123), and at least one upper antifuse (122), the upper antifuse (122) having an upper counter electrode (127) and an upper fusible insulator portion (126) defining an upper fuse element of an initial high electrical resistance state which interconnects the upper counter electrode (127) with the common intermediate electrode (123).
Abstract:
A method to optimize the size and filling of decoupling capacitors for very large scale integrated circuits (VLSI) using existing lithographic fillers. The method combines the automatic or manual generation of lithographic fill patterns with the forming of the capacitors. According to the method, when the chip layout is about to be finished, all remaining empty space on the chip gets identified by a layout tool. Then, the closest power-supply nets get extracted. All power supplies and their combinations are sorted in a connection table which determines the appropriate types of capacitances once the power-supply nets closest to the empty spaces extracted from the layout. The empty spaces are then assigned appropriate decoupling capacitances. Decoupling capacitors generated by the method are suitable for VLSI power supplies for noise reduction.
Abstract:
An automatic method for the generation of a logical hardware test pattern in memory circuits is based on a given physical pattern. The method includes the backwards transformation from a given set of logical data pattern. Since the method is automatic, no knowledge of the data scrambling inside the memory circuit is required.
Abstract:
An automatic method for the generation of a logical hardware test pattern in memory circuits is based on a given physical pattern. The method includes the backwards transformation from a given set of logical data pattern. Since the method is automatic, no knowledge of the data scrambling inside the memory circuit is required.
Abstract:
A sense amplifier for use with a dynamic random access memory is formed in a silicon integrated circuit. The pitch of an array of such sense amplifiers is equal to the pitch of pairs of bit lines of a memory array. Each array of sense amplifiers is formed from four rows of transistors of a given n or p-channel type Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) transistor having a U-shaped gate electrode. The gate electrode of the transistors in each row of transistors of the sense amplifier is offset from those in a previous row by a preselected amount. The bit lines passing through the sense amplifier are straight, with no offsets to affect photolithographic performance, and no protuberances to increase the capacitance of the bit lines. Such an array of sense amplifiers has a size equivalent to the minimum size of the pairs of bit lines, and thus does not cause any increase in the width of the array of memory cells.
Abstract:
A semiconductor device, in accordance with the present invention, includes a plurality of fuses (106) disposed on a same level in a fuse bank (104). A plurality of conductive lines (408) are routed through the fuse bank in between the fuses. A terminal via window (405) is formed in a passivation layer over the plurality of conductive lines and over the plurality of fuses, the terminal via window being formed to expose the fuses in the fuse bank.
Abstract:
A circuit for programming electrical fuses, in accordance with the present invention, includes a shift register (12) including a plurality of latches (16). Each latch has a corresponding switch (22) and a corresponding electrical fuse (24). A bit generator (208) generates a single bit of a first state and all other bits of a second state. The bit generator propagates the generated bits into the shift register in accordance with a clock signal (206). Each switch enables conduction through the corresponding electrical fuse in accordance with the generated bits stored in the corresponding latch. A blow voltage line (28) connects to the electrical fuses. The blow voltage line is activated to blow fuses in accordance with programming data (202) such that the electrical fuses are programmed in accordance with the programming data when the single bit of the first state is stored in the latch corresponding to the fuse to be programmed.
Abstract:
A method to optimize the size and filling of decoupling capacitors for very large scale integrated circuits (VLSI) using existing lithographic fillers. The method combines the automatic or manual generation of lithographic fill patterns with the forming of the capacitors. According to the method, when the chip layout is about to be finished, all remaining empty space on the chip gets identified by a layout tool. Then, the closest power-supply nets get extracted. All power supplies and their combinations are sorted in a connection table which determines the appropriate types of capacitances once the power-supply nets closest to the empty spaces extracted from the layout. The empty spaces are then assigned appropriate decoupling capacitances. Decoupling capacitors generated by the method are suitable for VLSI power supplies for noise reduction.
Abstract:
A method to optimize the size and filling of decoupling capacitors for very large scale integrated circuits (VLSI) using existing lithographic fillers. The method combines the automatic or manual generation of lithographic fill patterns with the forming of the capacitors. According to the method, when the chip layout is about to be finished, all remaining empty space on the chip gets identified by a layout tool. Then, the closest power-supply nets get extracted. All power supplies and their combinations are sorted in a connection table which determines the appropriate types of capacitances once the power-supply nets closest to the empty spaces extracted from the layout. The empty spaces are then assigned appropriate decoupling capacitances. Decoupling capacitors generated by the method are suitable for VLSI power supplies for noise reduction.