Patent ID: 7443008

Claim:
A programmable element comprising: a diode formed in a first portion of a polysilicon layer, the polysilicon layer being lightly doped of a first or a second conductivity type and being formed on the top surface of a dielectric layer, the dielectric layer being formed on the top surface of a semiconductor substrate and electrically isolating the polysilicon layer from the underlying semiconductor substrate, the diode including a first region being a heavily doped region of the first conductivity type and a second region being a heavily doped region of the second conductivity type, the diode having a p-n junction in the polysilicon layer being formed at the junction between the first conductivity type and the second conductivity type between the first region and the second region; and a programmable structure formed in a second portion of the polysilicon layer, the programmable structure including a third region being a heavily doped region of the first conductivity type and a fourth region being a heavily doped region of the second conductivity type, the first region of the diode and the third region of the programmable structure being electrically connected, the programmable structure having a p-n junction in the polysilicon layer being formed at the junction between the first conductivity type and the second conductivity type between the third region and the fourth region, wherein the programmable structure of the programmable element is programmed to a low impedance state when a voltage exceeding a first breakdown voltage of the programmable structure is applied to the programmable element to reverse bias the programmable structure and the diode has a second breakdown voltage in reverse bias equal to or greater than the first breakdown voltage of the programmable structure.