Patent ID: 7352203

Claim:
An integrated-circuit security apparatus, comprising: a pair of conductive security traces that are arranged on an integrated circuit; driver means controlled by a clock signal for providing complementary HIGH and LOW voltage levels to a respective first end of each of the conductive security traces; first switch means for temporarily interrupting the driver means and isolating the pair of conductive security traces; second switch means for temporarily connecting the first ends of the isolated pair of conductive security traces to each other so that both conductive traces are at the same voltage such that the voltage at the first end of one of the security traces at the LOW voltage is boosted to an intermediate voltage level between the complementary HIGH and LOW voltage levels by the HIGH voltage level at the first end of the other security trace to thereby reduce power required from the driver circuit that is to drive its output terminal from the LOW voltage level to the HIGH voltage level; first and second comparators, each respectively comparing voltages on the respective first ends of the pair of conductive security traces with voltages on a respective second end of the pair of conductive security traces; and means for logically combining output signals of the first and second comparators.