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:
Nov. 16, 1999
Filed:
Mar. 24, 1997
Alan H Huggins, Gilroy, CA (US);
John MacPherson, Fremont, CA (US);
Clear Logic, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A method for fabricating custom integrated circuits includes the steps of 1) patterning the layer to be customized with standard precision masking techniques to define all possible connections, vias or cut-points, and 2) using a non-precision targeting energy beam to select the desired connections, vias or cut-points for customization. Consequently, the present invention requires no custom mask so that application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can be produced with lower lead-time and costs when compared to prior methods. In other embodiments, a non-precision configuration mask may replace the targeting energy beam, where the configuration mask can be made by conventional mask-making techniques or by applying an opaque layer to a mask blank and using a targeting energy beam to selectively remove the desired portions of the opaque areas.