Patent · US Expired

Method of customizing integrated circuits by selective secondary deposition of interconnect material

US6060330A · kind A · utility

11Cited by
15References
31Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 25, 1997
Grant dateMay 9, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 25, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01L2924/0002
  • WIPO fieldSemiconductors
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method for fabricating custom integrated circuits includes the steps of 1) patterning the layer to be customized with a standard precision mask to define all possible connections, vias or cut-points, and 2) using a targeting energy beam to select the desired connections, vias or cut-points for customization. Consequently, the present invention requires no custom mask so that application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can be produced with lower lead-time and costs when compared to prior methods. In other embodiments, a non-precision configuration mask may replace the targeting energy beam, where the configuration mask can be made by conventional mask-making techniques or by applying an opaque layer to a mask blank and using a targeting energy beam to selectively remove the desired portions of the opaque areas.

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