Semiconductor device having a deactivation fuse

Details Semiconductor device having a deactivation fuse Semiconductor device having a deactivation fuse

1999-03-23

2001-01-16

Jackson, Stephen W. (Department: 2836)

Electricity: electrical systems and devices

Safety and protection of systems and devices

Circuit interruption by thermal sensing

C361S115000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06175481

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A deactivation fuse is employed to selectively deactivate a portion of the circuits comprising a semiconductor device. For example, it may be determined during manufacturing that certain circuits, or groups of circuits, are malfunctioning, in which case, the malfunctioning circuits can be deactivated, thereby preserving the utility of the remainder of the circuits in the semiconductor device.
FIG. 1
is a schematic circuit diagram of a conventional semiconductor device having a deactivation fuse. Referring to
FIG. 1
, the conventional semiconductor device
101
includes a power source pin
111
, a ground pin
121
, a switching clement
131
, a resistor
141
, a deactivation fuse element
151
, an inverter
161
and an internal circuit
171
. The switching element
131
is used for opening the deactivation fuse
151
. In other words, if the switching element
131
is activated by a control signal C, power supply voltage Vdd is applied to the deactivation fuse
151
through the power source pin
111
, thereby supplying high current, which opens the fuse
151
so that it no longer conducts, causing voltage Vo to be driven to a low state, thereby disabling internal circuit
171
.
In
FIG. 1
, assuming that the deactivation fuse
151
is conducting, with power supply voltage Vdd applied to the resistor
141
, the input voltage of the inverter
161
remains at a ground voltage (GND) level. Thus, the output Vo of the inverter
161
is driven to a high logic level. If the fuse
151
is opened, then if the power supply voltage Vdd is applied to the resistor
141
, the input voltage of the inverter
161
rises to the power supply voltage (Vdd) level. Thus, the output voltage Vo of the inverter
161
is driven to a logic low level. In other words, the output of the inverter
161
changes according to the conducting state of the fuse
151
.
In the conventional semiconductor device
101
, current flows through the resistor
141
so long as the power supply voltage Vdd is applied to the resistor
141
, whether the fuse
151
is opened or closed. This amounts to unnecessary power consumption by the semiconductor device
101
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To address the above problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device having a deactivation fuse circuit which has lower power consumption than that of the prior art.
Accordingly, to achieve the above object, there is provided a semiconductor device comprising a logic circuit, at least two active elements, and a deactivation fuse.
The logic circuit generates first and second internal control signals in response to an external control signal.
The first and second active elements are connected in series with each other, the first active element receiving a power supply voltage, the first and second active elements generating an output signal having a predetermined voltage in response to the corresponding internal control signals.
The deactivation fuse is connected between the second active element, and a ground terminal.
If the external control signal is activated, at least one of the two or more active elements operates so that the output signal having a predetermined voltage is latched.
According to the present invention, the power consumption of the semiconductor device having the deactivation fuse is reduced as compared to conventional techniques.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4412241 (1983-10-01), Nelson
patent: 4451839 (1984-05-01), Nelson
patent: 4621346 (1986-11-01), McAdams

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Semiconductor device having a deactivation fuse does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Semiconductor device having a deactivation fuse, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Semiconductor device having a deactivation fuse will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2479804