Computer-aided design and analysis of circuits and semiconductor – Nanotechnology related integrated circuit design
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-25
2001-01-16
Lintz, Paul R. (Department: 2768)
Computer-aided design and analysis of circuits and semiconductor
Nanotechnology related integrated circuit design
C711S163000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06175951
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the design of integrated circuits, more particularly to a method for fabricating a customer-configured integrated circuit, and to a customer-configured integrated circuit for exclusive use by a customer.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is not unusual for integrated circuit vendors and manufacturers to provide the same functional type of integrated circuit to competing customers. In order to guard against piracy among competing customers, integrated circuit vendors and manufacturers need to develop customer-configured integrated circuits. In this way, customers can use the customer-configured integrated circuits that function in the same manner but have different configurations in the development of their own application systems. Therefore, unscrupulous customers can be prevented from copying the designs of others, and from producing and selling copied designs that use the customer-configured integrated circuits.
Conventionally, there are three methods available for programming an integrated circuit. First, a hard-wired programming scheme, such as a fixed functional setting in the functional design stage, is available to specify a particular function or configuration. However, this scheme suffers from lack of flexibility, and integrated circuit vendors and manufacturers incur a tremendous increase in production management costs because different mask layers are required, and because different raw products are produced when fabricating different customer-configured integrated circuits. Second, a software programming scheme is available in which a system driving software can change the programming of the integrated circuit anytime during the operation of the application system. While this scheme offers flexibility, it cannot provide sole protection and proprietary use for integrated circuits of the same functional type. Third, a non-volatile programming scheme is available in which a non-volatile memory, such as a flash memory, is programmed by the user. Information in the non-volatile memory does not get lost when the application system is turned on or off. Since the configuration of the integrated circuits shipped to all customers is fixed, sole-protection or proprietary use is weak because the programmed information can be easily stolen.
Customers need customer-configured integrated circuits for exclusive use so as to protect themselves from piracy. On the other hand, integrated circuit vendors and manufacturers require a simple production process to supply different customer-configured integrated circuits of the same functional type to different customers so as to incur little overhead. As such, the conventional integrated circuit programming schemes are inadequate for both the customers and the integrated circuit vendors or manufacturers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a method for fabricating a customer-configured integrated circuit in which, except for the bonding step, all other process steps remain unaltered for different customer-configured integrated circuits of the same functional type to result in almost unaltered production management.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a customer-configured integrated circuit that uses bonding programming to provide the same with an exclusive use function.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for fabricating a customer-configured integrated circuit for exclusive use by a customer. The method comprises: forming an integrated circuit core during a chip fabrication stage, the integrated circuit core having an application core circuit portion during a pad bonding stage, a code generating circuit portion for generating a customer-specific code assigned to the integrated circuit, a proprietary code provider portion adapted to be set by the customer for providing a proprietary code, and a matching circuit portion having inputs connected to the code generating circuit portion and S the proprietary code provider portion to receive the customer-specific code and the proprietary code therefrom, and an output connected to the application core circuit portion for asserting the application core circuit portion upon detection of a match between the customer-specific code and the proprietary code; providing a plurality of application bonding pads and code setting bonding pads on the integrated circuit core, the application bonding pads being connected to the application core circuit portion and the proprietary code provider portion, the code setting bonding pads being connected to the code generating circuit portion during the pad bonding stage; and programming the code setting bonding pads during the pad bonding stage by selectively bonding each of the code setting bonding pads to a reference potential to enable the code generating circuit portion to generate the customer-specific code assigned to the integrated circuit.
According to a second aspect of the invention, a customer-configured integrated circuit for exclusive use by a customer comprises an integrated circuit core and a plurality of application bonding pads and code setting bonding pads provided on the integrated circuit core.
The integrated circuit core is formed during a chip fabrication stage, the integrated circuit core having an application core circuit portion during a pad bonding stage, a code generating circuit portion for generating a customer-specific code assigned to the integrated circuit, a proprietary code provider portion adapted to be set by the customer for providing a proprietary code, and a matching circuit portion having inputs connected to the code generating circuit portion and the proprietary code provider portion to receive the customer-specific code and the proprietary code therefrom, and an output connected to the application core circuit portion. The matching circuit portion asserts the application core circuit portion upon detection of a match between the customer-specific code and the proprietary code.
The application bonding pads are connected to the application core circuit portion and the proprietary code provider portion. The code setting bonding pads are connected to the code generating circuit portion during the pad bonding stage, and are programmed during the pad bonding stage by selectively bonding each of the code setting bonding pads to a reference potential to enable the code generating circuit portion to generate the customer-specific code assigned to the integrated circuit.
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Christensen O'Connor Johnson & Kindness PLLC
Garbowski Leigh Marie
Lintz Paul R.
Winbond Electronics Corp.
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