Patent · US Active

Back end of line (BEOL) process corner sensing

US11823962B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by

1References

22Claims

0Family size

Assignee

QUALCOMM Incorporated · US

Inventors

Saravanan Marimuthu · Saco, US
De Lu · Taipei, TW
Baldeo Sharan Sharma · Kanchinakote, IN
Peeyush Kumar Parkar · Kanchinakote, IN
Venkat Narayanan · San Diego, US
Rui Li · San Diego, US
Samy Shafik Tawfik Zaynoun · San Diego, US
Min-Hsian Chen · San Diego, US
David A. Kidd · San Diego, US
Amit Patil · Bengaluru, IN

Key dates

Filing date	Feb 19, 2021
Grant date	Nov 21, 2023
Priority date	—
Expiry date	Jul 31, 2042

Classification

Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
CPC primaryH01L22/34
WIPO fieldMeasurement
WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to sensing integrated circuit (IC) Back End Of Line (BEOL) process corners. In one aspect, an apparatus for sensing IC BEOL process corners includes a ring oscillator including a plurality of ring oscillator stages configured to generate an output waveform with a frequency state; and a shield net circuit including a plurality of shield net stages corresponding to the plurality of ring oscillator stages, the shield net circuit having a toggle input. And, a method includes generating an output waveform with a frequency state using a ring oscillator that includes a plurality of ring oscillator stages; modifying a plurality of ring oscillator stage time delays through a coupling between a plurality of shield net stages and the plurality of ring oscillator stages; and selecting the frequency state using a toggle input of a shield net circuit which includes the plurality of shield net stages.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.