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:
Oct. 04, 1994
Filed:
May. 14, 1992
Michiel de Wit, Dallas, TX (US);
Khen-Sang Tan, Singapore, SG;
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
A differential fuse circuit 10 is disclosed herein. A first fuse 12 and a second fuse 14 are coupled to a supply potential V.sub.DD (e.g., five volts). Circuitry 16 and 18 for blowing the two fuses 12 and 14 is also provided. A current mirror 46 including a first leg and a second leg is also provided. The current mirror 46 is designed so that a current through the first leg will induce a current in the second leg. The first leg is coupled between the first fuse 12 and a reference potential V.sub.SS and the second leg is coupled between the second fuse 14 and the reference potential V.sub.SS. An output node 56 is provided between the second fuse 14 and the second leg of the current mirror 46. A differential sense circuit 24 may also be included between the fuses 12 and 14 and the current mirror 46. During operation, the output node is at a potential substantially near the reference potential when the first fuse has a resistance greater than the second fuse and the output node is at a potential substantially near the supply potential when the first fuse has a resistance less than the second fuse. Other systems and methods are also disclosed.