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:
Aug. 10, 2004
Filed:
Nov. 01, 2001
Paul D Nuber, Ft Collins, CO (US);
Gayvin E Stong, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Agilent Technologies, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus and method are provided for preventing buffers used to reduce delays on long lines of an IC from being damaged due to charge that collects on the buffers during manufacturing. In accordance with the present invention, a protection diode is included directly in at least each buffer that is used for this purpose, i.e., for the purpose of preventing delays on long lines of the IC. By including a protection diode in at least each buffer that is used for this purpose, the present invention obviates the need for having to use tools during the IC design process to determine a suitable location for a protection diode.