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:
May. 30, 1995
Filed:
Feb. 09, 1994
Duane E Galbi, Jericho, VT (US);
William H Guthrie, Essex Junction, VT (US);
Oliver Kiehl, Essex Junction, VT (US);
Jack A Mandelman, Essex Junction, VT (US);
Josef S Watts, South Burlington, VT (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A fuse, having reduced blow-current requirements thereby minimizing the power supply voltage and chip area required for the driver transistors, has a geometry which is characterized by an essentially uniform width dimension throughout the primary axis of the fuse link but having at least one approximately right angle bend in the fuse link. The fuse can be blown open with approximately 10% of the input current density required for a straight fuse of equal cross-sectional area. The reason for this is that, due to current crowding, the current density is accentuated at the inside corner of the bend. As the input current to the fuse is increased, a current density is reached at the inside corner which causes the fuse material to melt. A notch forms at the inside corner. The fuse geometry altered by the notching causes even more severe current crowding at the notches, and this in turn makes the melting propagate across the width of the fuse. The predictability of the point of fuse blow out allows even greater circuit densities while minimizing the possibility of accidental damage to adjacent devices.