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. 01, 2001
Filed:
Aug. 02, 1999
William L. Devanney, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Clear Logic, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A laser fuse structure and array are provided which use vertical vias to connect the fuse body of the laser fuse to an interconnect layer. The vias extend downward from the fuse body and thus require less layout area. The thermal conductivity of the vias are minimized by restricting their cross-sectional area and by using tungsten as the via fill material. In some embodiments, an underlying conductive line is widened to minimize damage to the line during lasering. In another embodiment, the width of the fuse body is increased to reduce the energy required to blow the fuse. As a result, unrelated circuit elements and patterned lines can be placed closer together in a laser fuse array, thereby increasing the packing density of such arrays.