US 11,380,622 B2 · Method and related structure to authenticate integrated circuit with authentication film

Abstract

The disclosure provides a method to authenticate an integrated circuit (IC) structure. The method may include forming a first authentication film (AF) material within the IC structure. A composition of the first AF material is different from an adjacent material within the IC structure. The method includes converting the first AF material into a void within the IC structure. Additionally, the method includes creating an authentication map of the IC structure to include a location of the void in the IC structure for authentication of the IC structure.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An integrated circuit (IC) structure, comprising:

a polyimide layer over a plurality of metal wiring layers, the polyimide layer including a first region having at least one electrically active element, and a second region horizontally distal to the at least one electrically active element;
and
a void within the second region of the polyimide layer, wherein a location of the void within the polyimide layer defines an authentication pattern for the IC structure, and the location of the void is optically detectable from outside the IC structure to provide authentication of the IC structure.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

16/953,441Filed 20 Nov 2020

Published

US 2022/0165676 A126 May 2022

Granted

5 Jul 2022

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

H10W 46/00
Marks applied to devices
H10W 42/40
Arrangements for protection of devices: protecting against tampering, e.g. unauthorised inspection or reverse engineering
H10W 42/405
Protecting against tampering, e.g. unauthorised inspection or reverse engineering: using active circuits
H10W 46/101
Marks applied to devices, e.g. for alignment or identification: characterised by the type of information, e.g. logos or symbols

Method and related structure to authenticate integrated circuit with authentication film

Life of this patent

Method and related structure to authenticate integrated circuit with authentication film

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18