Semiconductor Device Defect Relief Circuit
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Solution Overview
Problem
As semiconductor devices increase in storage capacity due to miniaturization, the risk of defective memory cells also rises, and existing technologies struggle to efficiently relieve these defects using redundancy circuits.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device incorporating an address serial conversion circuit, a bit determination circuit, and a selection control circuit that serially converts defective address signals, counts high-level bits, and selects antifuse elements for programming based on a predetermined threshold, optimizing the programming process to reduce wasteful programming and efficiently relieve defective memory cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the storage capacity is increased by miniaturizing memory cells, then the storage capacity increases, but the risk of defective memory cells increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary detection of defective memory cells during manufacturing testing, and pre-configures redundancy circuits with replacement addresses stored in antifuse elements before the device reaches the customer. This allows defects to be identified and corrected in advance, enabling high-capacity miniaturized memory devices to maintain reliability through pre-established backup mechanisms.
2Reliability
If conventional redundancy methods are used to relieve defective memory cells, then defective cells can be replaced, but the programming process is inefficient with wasteful programming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by treating different defective addresses differently based on their binary characteristics. The bit determination circuit identifies which bits in the defective address are at high logic level, and the selection control circuit selectively programs antifuse elements only for those specific bits rather than uniformly programming all redundancy circuits. This localized approach eliminates wasteful programming of already-functional cells.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the programming parameter from a uniform approach (programming all redundancy circuits regardless of actual need) to a selective approach based on the binary value of defective address bits. By using the bit determination result signal to control which antifuse elements are programmed, the system dynamically adjusts programming behavior based on the specific characteristics of each defective address, significantly improving programming efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device comprises a bit determination circuit to count the number of bits at a first level in an input address signal formed of a plurality of bits and to output a result indicating whether or not a value of the count exceeds a predetermined determination threshold value, as a bit determination result signal, and a selection control circuit to select a non-volatile program element to be cut off, based on the bit determination result signal and the address signal. Additional apparatus and methods are described.