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. 15, 2002
Filed:
Sep. 28, 2001
Dirk Többen, Dresden OT Langebrück, DE;
Axel Brintzinger, Dresden, DE;
Stefan Weber, Dresden, DE;
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, DE;
Abstract
An antifuse (e.g., ) is formed in an integrated circuit through the use of a block mask (e.g., photoresist ) during in situ antifuse dielectric formation. Generally, the mask allows self-aligned oxidation of an oxidizable metal (e.g., aluminum ) to form the antifuse dielectric (e.g., aluminum oxide ), while preventing oxidation of non-programmable or fixed connections (e.g., conductive stack ). The number of mask, deposition, or etching steps may be reduced relative to prior art methods. In addition, a fixed connection may be formed during the formation of and at the same level as the antifuse link.