Low voltage programmable storage element
US5418738A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 1, 1994 |
| Grant date | May 23, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 1, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C17/16
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A programmable storage element for redundancy-programing includes a programmable antifuse circuit, which includes a plurality of first resistors and a switching circuit for coupling the first resistors in series in response to a plurality of first control signals and for coupling the first resistors in parallel in response to a plurality of second control signals to permit programing of the first resistors, and a sensing circuit for determining whether or not the first resistors have been programmed. The state of the first resistors is determined by comparing a first voltage drop across the first resistors with a second voltage drop across a second resistor. Each of the first resistors is an unsilicided polysilicon conductor which has an irreversible resistance decrease when a predetermined threshold current is applied for a minimum period of time.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.