Electrically programmable low resistive antifuse element
US5250459A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 14, 1992 |
| Grant date | Oct 5, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 14, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/0002
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention introduces a process to fabricate very low resistive antifuse elements by introducing Antimony (Sb) into one or both of the antifuse element's electrodes and thereby resulting in said very low resistive (programmed) antifuse element. Introducing Sb into the antifuse electrode(s) reduces the depletion width of the dopant impurities thereby causing a large concentration of n+ dopants in the antifuse electrode(s). This allows a reduction in the voltage required across the electrodes to breakdown the inner lying dielectric and thus program or short the electrodes together. In addition, once the two electrodes become shorted together to form a filament, the Sb will flow form one or both electrode(s) and thereby heavily dope the filament itself with n+ atoms. With the presence of the heavy concentration of n+ atoms in the filament, the shorted antifuse element is reduced in resistance by as much as a few hundred ohms or below when compared to antifuse elements fabricated by other methods.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.