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:
Mar. 22, 2005
Filed:
Jul. 01, 2002
Robin C. Sarma, Plano, TX (US);
Xiaowei Deng, Plano, TX (US);
James David Gallia, McKinney, TX (US);
Robin C. Sarma, Plano, TX (US);
Xiaowei Deng, Plano, TX (US);
James David Gallia, McKinney, TX (US);
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
A method for measuring a capacitance associated with a portion of an integrated circuit is provided that includes coupling a measurement circuit to an integrated circuit. One or more transistors within the integrated circuit are initialized such that a steady-state associated with one or more of the transistors is achieved. A capacitance associated with the portion of the integrated circuit is then measured using the measurement circuit. The portion of the integrated circuit is selectively charged and discharged in response to a voltage potential being applied thereto such that a drain current is generated that serves as a basis for the capacitance measurement.