Split Chip

• US 20080258261A1
• Filed: 04/22/2007
• Published: 10/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: James Neil Rodgers
• Original Assignee: James Neil Rodgers
• Inventors: Rodgers, James Neil
• Granted Patent: US 7,741,971 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/533
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07345 by activating or deactivating at least a part of the circuit on the record carrier, e.g. ON/OFF switches

Abstract

This Invention is a design method and a system for a miniaturized silicon circuit whereby the circuit is split into two pieces. This process is known to the Inventor as a bifurcated circuit or disintegrated circuit and is titled the “Split Chip” by the Inventor. The Split Chip contemplates an RFID enabled consumer oriented tracking system which protects consumer privacy. The goal of this Invention is accomplished by splitting the RFID transponder circuit into a retained piece and a detached piece. Each piece is contained on a separate wafer of silicon. The two pieces are electrically connected by a fine piece of conductive material. Each piece is dependent upon the other in order to disgorge data. The electrical connection between the two pieces can be severed by the consumer. This is accomplished by tearing the fine piece of conductive material at a designated spot on the substrate. The result of the tear is that the Split Chip is now moribund. Upon the circumstance of a return or refund consumer item the original data can be recovered through a laser guidance system which connects the retained piece and its alpha numeric identifier to a back end host computer administration network.

Claims

1. The system and method of one complete integrated circuit contained upon two independent pieces of silicon conductively connected by a fine piece of conductive material such as conductive ink;

the method of fabricating one disintegrated silicon miniaturized circuit having a plethora and plurality of electrical components on two wafers of single crystal semi conductive material yet conductively connected to form one circuit, known as a bifurcated circuit;

a plurality of transistors defined within the two silicon wafers with each transistor composed of semi conductive material of opposite conductivity types;

a silicon antenna and passive transistor circuits etched on the detachable piece of silicon wafer;

a memory circuit and active transistor section etched on the retained piece of silicon wafer;

adjacent one major face of one wafer providing a base and an emitter region which overlie a collector region the base emitter and base collector regions of said transistors extending entirely to one major face;

a plurality of thin elongated regions of the other wafer exhibiting substantial resistance to provide semi conductor resistors;

the retained wafer spaced on said one major face of the transistors to form memory circuits;

the antenna, resistors, capacitors plus passive circuitry spaced on the detachable wafer;

a method whereby a conductive means is fabricated connecting the active transistor and memory regions of the retained wafer to the antenna and passive circuitry regions of the detachable wafer such that all regions of the circuit can function as one integrated circuit when so connected;

a method of severing the connection between the retained and detachable wafers through a fold or perforation in the substrate of the two wafers so that fine conductive material can be severed thereby halting the circuit;

for the purpose of protecting consumer privacy in an RFID tagging environment.

2. The method of claim 1 whereby the layers on the wafer of the detached piece of the bifurcated circuit have etched thereon a resonant RFID antenna using existing semi conductor industry best practices so that a complex resonant antenna is constructed at a macro level and reducing same through the process of de-magnification for the purposes of miniaturization.

3. The method of claim 1 whereby the layers on the wafer of the detached piece of the bifurcated circuit have etched thereon passive transistor circuits such as resistors and capacitors using existing semi conductor industry best practices so that complex circuitry is constructed at a macro level and reduced through the process of de-magnification for the purposes of miniaturization.

4. The method of claim 1 whereby the layers on the wafer of the retained piece of the bifurcated circuit have etched thereon active transistor memory circuits using existing semi conductor industry best practices so that complex active transistor and memory circuitry is constructed at a macro level and reduced through the process of de-magnification for the purposes of miniaturization.

5. The method of claim 1 whereby the retained piece of silicon wafer and the detached piece of silicon wafer which are the constituent parts of the bifurcated circuit design herein are electrically connected, one to the other, through the auspices of a fine conductive material such as conductive ink which can be easily torn or ripped for the purpose of disconnecting the electrical connection between the retained piece and the detached piece.

6. The system of claim 1 whereby the retained piece and detached piece are interrogated at the time of purchase of a consumer item and the EPC data on the memory section of the retained piece is read and communicated to a back end host computer which administers any specific RFID retail system.

7. The system of claim 1 whereby the memory section of the retained piece is erased and rewritten with a unique alpha numeric identifier at the time of interrogation.

8. The system of claim 7 whereby the unique alpha numeric identifier can be correlated to the original data contained in the memory section of the retained piece.

9. A system and method whereby the original data of claim 8 is retrieved through an a new electrical connection formed between a dedicated returned item, laser directed, interrogator and the retained piece on the returned item whereby the alpha numeric on the retained piece is communicated to the back end host computer system.

10. The system of claim 9 whereby upon presentation of a returned consumer item for refund or exchange by the consumer the alpha numeric identifier of the retained piece can be connected to the back end host computer database through a laser light system of guidance whereby a hand held interrogator magnetically couples to the tag end of the fine piece of conductive material, such as conductive ink, on the retained piece thus connecting the alpha numeric to the back end host computer system.

11. The system of claim 9 whereby a laser light guidance and then magnetic coupling connection to the tag end of the conductive material remaining on the retained piece is formed so that the retained piece alpha numeric identifier written to the retained piece at the time of interrogation and the original data interrogated ab initio from the retained piece, and transmitted to the back end database computer system, now correlates;

thereby effectively recreating the data on the original silicon bifurcated circuit package.