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:
Nov. 14, 2006
Filed:
Apr. 29, 2003
Jochen Hoffmann, Colchester, VT (US);
Carsten Ohlhoff, Munich, DE;
Peter Beer, Tutzing, DE;
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, DE;
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention generally provide methods and apparatus for testing memory devices having normal memory elements and redundant memory elements. During a front-end testing procedure, normal memory elements that are found to be defective are replaced by redundant memory elements. During the front-end test, redundant memory elements that are found to be defective may be marked as defective by blowing associated mask fuses. During a back-end testing procedure, the results of testing a normal memory element may be masked (e.g., forced to a passing result) if the normal memory element has been replaced by a redundant memory element. Similarly, the results of testing a redundant memory element may be masked if the redundant memory element was previously found to be defective, as indicated by an associated mark fuse. By masking the test results for memory elements (normal and redundant) that have been previously found defective, the memory elements may be tested in the same manner during front-end and back-end testing.