Antifuse circuit with improved gate oxide reliability

Abstract

An apparatus and method for improving the gate oxide reliability of an antifuse circuit is provided by coupling the gate input of a protection device of the antiftise circuit to a voltage converter circuit. In a program mode, a first voltage is applied through the voltage converter circuit to the gate input of the protection device to limit the voltage passed to internal transistor devices, thus increasing their gate oxide reliability. In a normal operation mode, however, a second, lower voltage is applied through the voltage converter to the gate input of the protection device to remove the large voltage stress placed across the gate oxide of the protection device itself. The voltage converter may attenuate the first voltage to create the second voltage or it may switch its output between the first and second voltage levels.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.