The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 09, 2019
Filed:
Apr. 12, 2016
Vishay-siliconix, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Chanho Park, San Jose, CA (US);
Ayman Shibib, San Jose, CA (US);
Kyle Terrill, Santa Clara, CA (US);
VISHAY-SILICONIX, San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
Disclosed are semiconductor devices that include additional gate pads, and methods of fabricating and testing such devices. A device may include a first gate pad, a second gate pad, and a third gate pad. The first gate pad is connected to a gate including a gate oxide layer. The second and third gate pads are part of an electro-static discharge (ESD) protection network for the device. The ESD protection network is initially isolated from the first gate pad and hence from the gate and gate oxide layer. Accordingly, gate oxide integrity (GOI) testing can be effectively performed and the reliability and quality of the gate oxide layer can be checked. The second gate pad can be subsequently connected to the first gate pad to enable the ESD protection network, and the third gate pad can be subsequently connected to an external terminal when the device is packaged.