Patent ID: 8542517
Filing Date: 2013-09-24
Classification: G11C,H01L

Abstract:
1. An antifuse, comprising: an insulated gate field effect transistor (“IGFET”) having an active semiconductor region including a body, first regions being at least one source region and at least one drain region separated from one another by the body, a gate overlying the body, and a body contact electrically connected with the body, the first regions having a first connectivity type being on the n-type or p-type, and the body having a second conductivity type being one of n-type or p-type and being opposite the first conductivity type, the IGFET being configured such that a programming current through at least one of the first regions and the body contact causes heating within the body sufficient to drive dopant diffusion from the at least one first region into the body such that an edge of the at least one first region moves closer to an adjacent edge of at least one other of the first regions, thus permanently reducing electrical resistance between the at least one first region and the at least one other first region by one or more orders of magnitude; the IGFET also configured such that the programming current can be applied by applying a programming voltage between the at least one first region and the body which is approximately equal to a nominal maximum voltage between the at least one first region and the gate useable to operate the IGFET in an on-state; and the antifuse is configured such that application of the programming current to the antifuse causes heating within the body sufficient to move the edge of the first semiconductor region sufficiently to produce the one or more order of magnitude reduction in resistance without melting either the silicide region or the semiconductor material of the body.