Method and apparatus for a configurable metal register
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsZhubiao Zhu, Hong Jiang, John R. Spencer, Michael A. Buckley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A configurable metal register of an integrated circuit that allows a register output value to be changed by changing any metal or any contact within a metal pattern solution of the register. More than one metal and/or corresponding contact within the metal pattern solution may be changed so that the register output value is correspondingly changed.
Claims38
A structure operable to configure an output value of a register of one or more registers of an integrated circuit structure, said structure comprising a pattern coupled to the register that comprises a plurality of metals and a plurality of contacts coupled to said plurality of metals, wherein modifying said pattern by changing one or more of the plurality of metals and the plurality of contacts modifies the output value of the register.
An integrated circuit structure, comprising:
- a register of a plurality of registers of the integrated circuit structure;
- and
- a pattern coupled to the register, said pattern comprising a plurality of metals and a plurality of contacts coupled to said plurality of metals,
- wherein an output value of the register is changed by modifying one or more of the plurality of metals and the plurality of contacts of said pattern.
An integrated circuit structure, said structure comprising:
- a metal switching tower, coupled to a ground and to a supply voltage, wherein a connection to the ground is operable to be cut by a focused ion beam (FIB);
- a mux device, coupled to the metal switching tower by a selection input, and further coupled to a transistive device;
- one or more inputs coupled to the mux device;
- one or more outputs, coupled to the mux device, wherein the one or more outputs are selected from the one or more inputs in accordance with the selection input;
- and
- a control signal coupled to the transistive device, said control signal operable to determine the absence or presence of the one or more outputs of the mux device.
A method for controlling an output value of a register of a plurality of registers of an integrated circuit structure, comprising:
- controlling a metal pattern solution of the integrated circuit structure, wherein the metal pattern solution is operable to change the value of the output value, further comprising:
- changing one or more of a plurality of metals and a corresponding plurality of contacts of the metal pattern solution.
An integrated circuit structure, comprising:
- a register of a plurality of registers of the integrated circuit structure, wherein the register comprises a metal pattern;
- and
- a means for controlling an output value of the register by modifying a configuration of the metal pattern.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.