Prevention of reverse engineering of security chips
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsQing Cao, Kangguo Cheng, Zhengwen Li, Fei Liu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A semiconductor chip includes a chip substrate; a self-destructive layer arranged on the chip substrate, the self-destructive layer including a pyrophoric reactant; and a sealant layer arranged on a surface of the self-destructive layer, on sidewalls of the self-destructive layer, and on the chip substrate such that the sealant layer forms a package seal on the semiconductor chip; wherein the pyrophoric reactant ignites spontaneously upon exposure to air.
Claims7
A method of making a semiconductor chip, the method comprising:
- providing a chip substrate;
- forming a self-destructive layer on the chip substrate, the self-destructive layer comprising a pyrophoric reactant;
- and
- depositing a sealant layer on a surface of the self-destructive layer, on sidewalls of the self-destructive layer, and on the chip substrate such that the sealant layer forms a package seal on the semiconductor chip;
- wherein the pyrophoric reactant ignites spontaneously upon exposure to humid air and produces a byproduct that damages the chip substrate and to prevent reverse engineering;
- and the self-destructive layer includes two layers which are sealed separately within the self-destructive layer.
A method of making a semiconductor chip, the method comprising:
- providing a chip substrate;
- forming a self-destructive layer on the chip substrate, the self-destructive layer comprising a pyrophoric reactant;
- and
- depositing a sealant layer on a surface of the self-destructive layer, on sidewalls of the self-destructive layer, and on the chip substrate such that the sealant layer forms a package seal on the semiconductor chip;
- wherein the pyrophoric reactant ignites spontaneously upon exposure to humid air at or below 55° C. and produces a byproduct that damages the chip substrate and to prevent reverse engineering;
- and the self-destructive layer includes two layers which are sealed separately within the self-destructive layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.