Patent ID: 7893699
Filing Date: 2011-02-22
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
1. An identification device for electronic circuits, comprising: a) at least two electronic components having different electronic characteristics; b) a current detection unit having at least two current detection resistors corresponding to the at least two electronic components, respectively, and each configured to measure a switching current output, respectively, from each of the at least two electronic components, wherein the switching currents are used to determine the respective values of the electronic characteristics; c) an evaluation unit configured to evaluate a mismatch exhibited by the at least two electronic components with respect to each other by analyzing the switching currents detected by the current detection unit; and d) a reference voltage source configured to generate a reference voltage, wherein at least one voltage drop across at least one of the current detection resistors corresponding, respectively, to one of the electronic components is used to evaluate the mismatch of the electronic components and the at least one voltage drop is compared with the reference voltage, and wherein each of the electronic components comprises a bipolar transistor or a field effect transistor.