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:
Feb. 01, 2000
Filed:
Jan. 27, 1998
Toan V Le, Austin, TX (US);
Scott A Taylor, Austin, TX (US);
Motorola, Inc., Schaumburg, IL (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A fuse circuit (30) uses circuitry (34, 36, 38) which is coupled between each terminal (A, B) of a fuse (32) for the purpose of maintaining each fuse terminal at the same voltage potential or within a predetermined voltage differential. When copper fuses are implemented, the fuse circuit eliminates the tendency for copper corrosion which may result in growth-back of the copper between the two fuse terminals (A, B). By fixing the voltage at each fuse terminal at a specific potential relative to the other terminal, effects of metal growth-back are eliminated. In another form, a bias scheme is used to place a fixed voltage between the fuse terminals to guarantee a minimum voltage differential across the fuse terminals after the fuse is blown. A differential in the voltage at the fuse terminals is sensed in order to indicate the status of the fuse's conductivity.