Antifuse with bypass diode and method thereof
First Claim
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1. A semiconductor device comprising:
- an antifuse having a first node and a second node;
a first diode having a first diode anode and a first diode cathode, the first diode cathode coupled to the first node of the antifuse, and the first diode anode coupled to the second node of the antifuse such that the first diode and the antifuse are in a parallel combination; and
a second diode coupled in series with the parallel combination, where the second diode is coupled oppositely biased compared to the first diode, and where the first diode has a first area, and the second diode has a second area, and wherein the second area is at least twice as large as the first area.
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Abstract
The embodiments described herein provide antifuse devices and methods that can be utilized in a wide variety of semiconductor devices. In one embodiment a semiconductor device is provided that includes an antifuse, a first diode coupled with the antifuse in a parallel combination, and a second diode coupled in series with the parallel combination. In such an embodiment the first diode effectively provides a bypass current path that can reduce the voltage across the antifuse when other antifuses are being programmed. As such, these embodiments can provide improved ability to tolerate programming voltages without damage or impairment of reliability.
9 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A semiconductor device comprising:
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an antifuse having a first node and a second node; a first diode having a first diode anode and a first diode cathode, the first diode cathode coupled to the first node of the antifuse, and the first diode anode coupled to the second node of the antifuse such that the first diode and the antifuse are in a parallel combination; and a second diode coupled in series with the parallel combination, where the second diode is coupled oppositely biased compared to the first diode, and where the first diode has a first area, and the second diode has a second area, and wherein the second area is at least twice as large as the first area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A semiconductor device, comprising:
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an array of antifuse bitcells, each antifuse bitcell comprising; an antifuse having a first node and a second node, a first diode having a first diode anode and a first diode cathode, the first diode cathode coupled to the first node of the antifuse, and the first diode anode coupled to the second node of the antifuse such that the first diode and the antifuse are in a parallel combination, and a second diode coupled in series with the parallel combination; and driver circuitry configure to selectively program the array of antifuse bitcells by selectively applying a programming voltage to a selected antifuse bitcell. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A semiconductor device comprising:
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an antifuse having a first node and a second node; a first diode having a first diode anode and a first diode cathode, the first diode cathode coupled to the first node of the antifuse, and the first diode anode coupled to the second node of the antifuse such that the first diode and the antifuse are in a parallel combination; and a second diode coupled in series with the parallel combination, where the first diode has a first area, and the second diode has a second area, and wherein the second area is at least twice as large as the first area. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification