Fuse Circuit Misprogramming Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Semiconductor devices with fuse circuits are prone to misprogramming after shipment, leading to unintended modifications in circuit configuration, resulting in defective products due to accidental application of wrong timing signals.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a second fuse circuit to store data indicating inhibition of programming, coupled with a gate circuit that prevents the program control circuit from rewriting the first fuse circuit's data once the second fuse circuit is programmed, ensuring data integrity and preventing misprogramming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the fuse circuit is made programmable after assembly to accommodate different product specifications, then adaptability is improved, but the risk of accidental programming and misconfiguration increases
Solution Approach 1:
A protection fuse is programmed in advance during the manufacturing process to prevent subsequent programming of the configuration fuse. This preliminary action establishes a safety mechanism before the product is shipped, ensuring that the configuration fuse cannot be accidentally modified by end users or in subsequent manufacturing steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The protection fuse acts as an intermediary element between the configuration fuse and the external programming environment. It mediates the programming capability by allowing configuration changes during manufacturing while blocking them after the protection fuse is programmed, thus controlling access to the configuration fuse based on temporal conditions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple types of products with different word organizations are manufactured to meet customer demands, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and inventory costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single semiconductor device is designed with a universal configuration fuse that can be programmed to support multiple product specifications (e.g., different word organizations). This multi-functional approach allows one device design to serve multiple product lines, eliminating the need to manufacture separate devices for each specification and reducing inventory complexity.
3Productivity
If products are tested as one type and then the fuse circuit is programmed after assembly, then productivity is improved, but the risk of programming errors and defective products increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protection fuse is programmed during the manufacturing process before the product is shipped. This preliminary programming action prevents accidental configuration changes after assembly and testing, ensuring that the programming operation performed during manufacturing is the only one that can occur, thereby maintaining both high productivity and product reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device is configured to prevent misprogramming of fuse circuits therein. The semiconductor device includes the following elements. A group of fuse element circuits 911 is configured to store a first data defining the circuit configuration. A fuse element circuit 913 is configured to store a second data representing inhibition of programming the group of fuse element circuits. A control logic circuit 140 is configured to program the first and the second data on the fuse element circuits. An AND gate circuit 914 is configured to inhibit the control logic circuit 140 from programming the group of fuse element circuits 911 on condition that the fuse element circuit 913 has been programmed.