Non-volatile multiple time programmable integrated circuit system with selective conversion to one time programmable or permanent configuration bit programming capabilities and related methods

Abstract

Various embodiments include providing a MTJ-based LUT and adding a system that short circuits or causes dielectric layer breakdown of selected MTJ junctions to permanently finalize a desired logic state configuration of selected MTJs that is read out by the LUT. Additional embodiments disable dielectric layer breakdown or short circuit control circuits to prevent further alterations to MTJ that have not had their dielectric layers broken down or shorted out. A control system then alters reading out the MTJ-based LUT to sense original higher and lower resistance values of un-shorted/altered MTJs as a higher resistance state and a shorted or dielectric layer that has been broken down as a lower resistance state. This combines the flexibility of a multiple-time programmable LUT-based FPGA with the security and reliability of a one-time programmable LUT-based FPGA which has characteristics of a fixed logic non-programmable integrated circuit or application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).