Securing an integrated circuit
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsRobert C. Dixon, Kirk E. Morrow, Phil C. F. Paone
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Securing an integrated circuit, including fabricating the integrated circuit to include a multiplicity of unblown efuses, at least one surrogate efuse that emulates a blown efuse, non-volatile data representing the blown state of the surrogate efuse, and security circuitry; and setting, by the security circuitry when power is first applied to the integrated circuit, a security state of the integrated circuit in dependence upon whether a sensed state of the surrogate efuse is equal to the blown state of the surrogate efuse.
Claims14
A method for securing an integrated circuit, the method comprising:
- fabricating the integrated circuit to include a multiplicity of unblown efuses, at least one surrogate efuse that emulates a blown efuse, non-volatile data representing the blown state of the surrogate efuse, and security circuitry;
- and
- setting, by the security circuitry when power is first applied to the integrated circuit, a security state of the integrated circuit in dependence upon whether a sensed state of the surrogate efuse is equal to the blown state of the surrogate efuse.
Apparatus for securing an integrated circuit, the apparatus comprising:
- an integrated circuit fabricated to include a multiplicity of unblown efuses, at least one surrogate efuse that emulates a blown efuse, non-volatile data representing the blown state of the surrogate efuse, and security circuitry;
- and
- security circuitry capable of setting, when power is first applied to the integrated circuit, a security state of the integrated circuit in dependence upon whether a sensed state of the surrogate efuse is equal to the blown state of the surrogate efuse.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.