Method and apparatus for circuit completion through the use of ball bonds or other connections during the formation of a semiconductor device

Abstract

A method used to form a semiconductor device comprises providing first and second circuit portions having first and second pad portions respectively. The second circuit portion is electrically isolated from the first circuit portion. The first and second pad portions are then electrically connected, for example with a ball bond or a wire bond, to electrically couple the first and second circuit portions. In various embodiments the semiconductor device will not function until the pad portions are electrically coupled, and in other embodiments the functionality of the device may be selectively controlled by connecting selected pad portions from a plurality of pad portions. Isolating the first and second circuit portions allows electrical operations such as antifuse programming to be carried out without adversely affecting related circuits. Once electrical operations are completed, the isolated circuit portions are electrically coupled to provide a complete circuit. Various inventive embodiments and implementations are described.

Description

[0001] This is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09 / 945,084 filed Aug. 30, 2001 and issued Jan. 31, 2006 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,991,970.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacture and, more particularly, to a method for customizing the functionality of a semiconductor device after probe and before assembly through the use of a ball bond, wire bond, or other electrical connection. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The manufacture of semiconductor devices such as dynamic random access memories (DRAM), static random access memories (SRAM), microprocessors, and logic devices involves a number of complex processing steps. While great care is taken during processing to ensure the steps are identical between each manufacturing lot of wafers, variability between lots, between wafers within a lot, and between dice on a single wafer commonly occurs. This processing variability results in differences in electrical performance of completed semicondu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a new method for selecting semiconductor device parameters before encapsulation using ball bond or wire bond connections. The circuit includes conductive pad portions that can be shorted together to function in different ways depending on the desired parameters. This allows for more flexibility in selecting the best semiconductor device for a specific application."

Problems solved by technology

These conductive pad portions are not accessible through the final package lead fingers.

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