Simple chip identification
US6483335B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 12, 2000 |
| Grant date | Nov 19, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 30, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/0002
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A technique for identifying circuits within an electrical device is disclosed. In one embodiment, additional current sink paths are associated with one or more circuits within the electrical device and measurements of additional current drawn by the current sink paths can be used to identify the associated circuit. In an additional embodiment, a special mode of operation is implemented in the electrical device where the circuit to be identified outputs identity signals in response to control signals from a controller. In a further embodiment, a shift register is activated in the special mode of operation to serially output an identity word in response to the control signals from the controller.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.