Mechanism for detection and compensation of NBTI induced threshold degradation
US7504847B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 19, 2006 |
| Grant date | Mar 17, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 15, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R31/2868
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The embodiments of the invention provide an apparatus and method for detection and compensation of negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) induced threshold degradation. A semiconductor device is provided comprising at least one stress device having a voltage applied to its gate node and at least one reference device having a zero gate-to-source voltage. A controller is also provided to configure node voltages of the device and/or the reference device to reflect different regions of device operations found in digital and analog circuit applications. Moreover, the controller measures a difference in current between the stress device and the reference device to determine whether NBTI induced threshold degradation has occurred in the stress device. The controller also adjusts an output power supply voltage of the stress device until a performance of the stress device matches a performance of the reference device to account for the NBTI induced threshold degradation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.