Semiconductor device with fine-adjustable resistance
US6130571A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 9, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 10, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 9, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/0002
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A semiconductor device includes a plurality of resistors connected in series, each resistor associated with a fuse and a switching device such that the fuse can be selectively connected in parallel with it or to a line through which a current can be supplied to the fuse so as to break it. After the resistance of the device is measured and is found to require a fine adjustment by breaking a selected one or more of the fuses, this selection is communicated from outside in an encoded signal. A decoder serves to decode this encoded signal and causes a fusing current to break the selected fuse (or fuses). Thus, only a reduced number of pads are required to access the fuses from outside. A source of the fusing current may be also contained as a part of the semiconductor device and serve to attenuate a surge current, which may invade from outside, before it reaches the fuse. The decoder may further serve to control the fusing current, or its source, such that no current is allowed to pass through except when it is intended to break a specified fuse or fuses.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.