Semiconductor Fuse Cell Abnormal Operation Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semiconductor devices face limitations in integration density and effective monitoring of fuse cells for abnormal operations, as e-fuse arrays often share amplifiers, leading to inefficiencies in detecting and addressing defects within the semiconductor systems.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor system comprising a controller, fuse controller, fuse array portion, and output driver that compares logic levels of fuse data from multiple fuse cells to generate a flag signal during boot-up and read operations, enabling detection of abnormal fuse cells and outputting this information for further analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If e-fuse arrays share amplifiers to improve integration density, then integration density is improved, but the ability to detect and address defects in individual fuse cells deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The fuse array is divided into multiple independently addressable fuse cells (e.g., 4 fuse cells sharing 2 amplifiers). Each fuse cell can be individually selected and tested using row and column address signals, allowing defect detection at the individual cell level even when amplifiers are shared. This segmentation enables both high integration density and reliable defect detection.
2Area of stationary object
If e-fuse arrays share amplifiers, then integration density is improved, but monitoring of individual fuse cells for abnormal operations becomes less effective
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the output of each fuse cell is fed back to the amplifier, creating an oscillation signal when the fuse cell is abnormal. This feedback loop enables continuous monitoring of fuse cell status, allowing the system to detect and report abnormal operations (such as stuck-at-0 or stuck-at-1 conditions) even while sharing amplifiers to achieve high integration density.
3Device complexity
If amplifiers are shared among fuse cells, then device complexity is reduced, but the precision of measuring fuse cell states deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses dynamic oscillation-based detection where the amplifier transitions between stable states and oscillation states based on the fuse cell condition. By applying test signals and observing whether the amplifier enters an oscillation mode, the system can precisely determine the state of individual fuse cells despite sharing amplifiers, maintaining measurement precision while reducing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The semiconductor system includes a controller and a semiconductor device. The controller outputs commands and receives an output datum to discriminate whether at least one of a plurality of fuse cells abnormally operates. The semiconductor device compares logic levels of a plurality of fuse data generated from the plurality of fuse cells with each other, thereby generating a flag signal enabled when at least one of the logic levels of the plurality of fuse data is different from the other logic levels while a boot-up operation is executed according to a combination of the commands. In addition, the semiconductor device outputs the flag signal as the output datum while a read operation is executed according to a combination of the commands.