Abstract:
Oscillator circuit (10) comprises two symmetrical branches (12,14) with common input (16). Each branch contains further input (18,20), output (22,24), capacitor(s) (C01,1) and its (dis)charge path (26,28,30,32). Each output is coupled to further input of opposite branch.Output of each branch is connected to common storage element (34). Charge current is controllable via further input, while discharge current is controllable via common input. Output voltage (CLK,CLK-n) is controllable at each output by capacitor voltage.
Abstract:
To provide a security-sensitive semiconductor product, particularly a smartcard chip, in which are produced not only electrically active structures (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) envisaged by the chip design in the form of circuit functions in and on a wafer (1), which may for example be composed of silicon, but also additional, electrically conductive parts (42, 61, 62) (tiles) of the filling structure, which are insulated from one another, are generated by means of a design program in the remaining residual areas, which greatly impedes, to the reverse engineer the analysis of the security-sensitive circuit structure situated beneath them. The contacts between the parts which are generated, which contacts are for interlinking the latter with the chance signal paths described, may be set "by hand" or by a combination of the design programs in question and a corresponding routing program. The filling conductive parts can also be connected to circuit components, such as transistors, diodes, resistors or capacitors, in order to provide additional circuit functions (e.g. analyzer circuits).