EP0696812A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Thermally activated noise immune fuse
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
•
Filing: 1995-07-13
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2015-07-13
Abstract
Abstract A noise immune fuse having sub-micron dimensions which can be programmed by an electrically and thermally synchronized event. The fuse includes a pair of fuse links (25, 27) in close proximity of each other, a layer (10) of thermally conductive and electrically insulating material thermally coupling the two links forming the pair, and means (20) for programming the first link by prompting the second link to gate the energy transfer between the links via the coupling layer. By combining thermal and electrical pulses to perform the programming function, the reliability of the fuse structure is greatly enhanced when compared to that of a single element fuse.
Inventors
- 👤 Raschid Jose Bezama
- 👤 Krishna Seshan
- 👤 Dominic Joseph Schepis
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 01:07
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01H; H01H85/00; H10; H10W; H10W20/00; H10W20/40; H10W20/49; H10W20/493; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S148/00; Y10S148/055
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
100 words
In an integrated circuit having a substrate insulated by an insulating layer, a programmable fuse structure comprising: a pair of current carrying fuse links on said insulating layer, said fuse links in close proximity of each other; a coupling layer of thermally conductive material, said pair of fuse links being thermally coupled by said layer; and means for programming the first link of said pair of fuse links by activating the second link of said pair of fuse links to transfer energy from said second link of said pair to said first link via said layer of thermally conductive material.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
23 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 1, wherein said substrate is insulated by a layer of SiO₂ formed on said substrate.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
39 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 1, wherein each link of said pair of fuse links has two terminals, each of said terminals is respectively attached to an interconnecting wire that provides wiring to the integrated circuit.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 3, wherein one of said terminals of each of said fuse links share a common interconnecting line.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 1, wherein said thermally conductive layer is an electrically insulating layer.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 5, wherein said thermally conductivity layer is made of a material selected from a group that consists of BeO, Al₃N₄, and diamond.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for programming is a voltage pulse simultaneously applied to each link of said pair of fuse links.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
31 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for programming is a synchronized pulse that is applied sequentially to each link of said pair of fuse links.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
31 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 1, wherein said thermally conductive and electrically insulating layer overlaps both the first and the second links of said pair of fuse links.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the first of said fuse links crosses over the second of said links.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
23 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the first of said fuse links crosses under the second of said links.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
38 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the second link of said fuse pair gates the energy dissipation rate of the first fuse link once the first fuse link is energized to its programming level.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
59 words
The programmable fuse of claim 1 wherein said means for programming the first link of said pair of fuse links consists in confining the energy generated by said first link of said pair of fuse links by having said second link gate the transfer of said energy generated by said first link via said layer of thermally conductive material.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
37 words
The programmable fuse structure as recited in claim 13, wherein said programming occurs by a combination of the current flowing through said first link and the confined energy generated therein that is gated by said second link.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.