Patent ID: 9514308
Filing Date: 2016-12-06
CPC Classification: G06F,H01L

Claim Text:
1. A tamper detection arrangement for use within an integrated circuit comprising: a metal stack of interconnect metal layers; at least one input capacitor having a first capacitance value; wherein the at least one capacitor is formed in the metal stack; a feedback capacitor having a second capacitance value; a sensing arrangement comprising an amplifier circuit having the at least one input capacitor as an input and the at least one feedback capacitor in a feedback loop across the amplifier circuit operable to detect a change in a ratio of capacitance values between the first capacitance value of the at least one input capacitor and the second capacitance value of the feedback capacitor; and a protective shield to protect a sensitive area of the integrated circuit from tampering, the protective shield being provided by the at least one input capacitor.