Transistor based antifuse with integrated heating element

• Main Authors: SAFRAN JOHN M, KIM DEOK-KEE, PARK BYEONGJU
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 25.05.2010
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

The present invention provides structures for an integrated antifuse that incorporates an integrated sensing transistor with an integrated heater. Two terminals connected to the upper plate allow the heating of the upper plate, accelerating the breakdown of the antifuse dielectric at a lower bias voltage. Part of the upper plate also serves as the gate of the integrated sensing transistor. The antifuse dielectric serves as the gate dielectric of the integrated transistor. The lower plate comprises a channel, a drain, and a source of a transistor. While intact, the integrated sensing transistor allows a passage of transistor current through the drain. When programmed, the antifuse dielectric, which is the gate of the integrated transistor, is subjected to a gate breakdown, shorting the gate to the channel and resulting in a decreased drain current. The integrated antifuse structure can also be wired in an array to provide a compact OTP memory array.