Stmicroelectronics (Rousset) Sas

Stmicroelectronics (Grenoble 2) Sas

Bruno Nicolas

Alexandre Sarafianos

Daniele Fronte

A semiconductor substrate of an integrated circuit is protected by a coating. The semiconductor includes a front face and a rear face. To detect a breach of the integrity of a semiconductor substrate of an integrated circuit from the rear face, an opening of the coating facing the rear face of the substrate is detected. In response thereto, an alarm is generated. The detection is performed by making resistance measurements with respect to the semiconductor substrate and comparing the measured resistance to a nominal resistive value of the semiconductor substrate.

Method for detecting a breach of the integrity of a semiconductor substrate of an integrated circuit from its rear face, and corresponding device

The disclosure concerns an electronic chip including a resistive region and a first switch of selection of a first area in contact with the resistive region.

Electronic chip

An electronic chip includes a first well having a first PN junction located therein, a second buried well located under and separated from the first well, and a first region forming a second PN junction with the second well. A detection circuit is coupled to the first well and configured to output a digital signal that has a first logic value when a potential difference within the first region is above a threshold and a second logic value when the potential difference within the first region is below the threshold.

Protected electronic chip

An integrated circuit protection device, including: groups of radiation detection elements distributed in a matrix array; logic gates combining outputs of the detection elements in rows and in columns, each output of a detection element being connected to a gate combining a row and to a gate combining a column; and a circuit for interpreting signals supplied by said logic gates and including an event counter and a delay element.

Growing community of inventors

Aubagne, France

Bruno Nicolas