Test circuits for integrated circuit counterfeit detection
| DWPI Title: Integrated circuit for facilitating semiconductor fabrication, has main circuit configured to perform predefined task, test circuit provided with ring oscillator circuits, and set of ring oscillator circuits comprising oscillator circuit |
| Abstract: Described herein are various technologies pertaining to identifying counterfeit integrated circuits (ICs) by way of allowing the origin of fabrication to be verified. An IC comprises a main circuit and a test circuit that is independent of the main circuit. The test circuit comprises at least one ring oscillator (RO) signal that, when energized, is configured to output a signal that is indicative of a semiconductor fabrication facility where the IC was manufactured. |
| Use: IC for facilitating semiconductor fabrication. |
| Advantage: The IC ensures that critical dimensions of circuit designs are scaled up to reduce variations and to enhance yield. The RO circuit can be repeated in a test circuit, which allows for additional statistical data to be acquired, where the additional data can be useful in ascertaining whether the IC is manufactured at a particular fabrication facility. |
| Novelty: The integrated circuit (IC) has a main circuit that is configured to perform a predefined task. A test circuit is integrated with the main circuit in the IC. The test circuit is provided with a set of ring oscillator (RO) circuits (500), where an output signal is based upon signals emitted by each of the RO circuits, and the RO circuit in the set of RO circuits being non-identical to each other RO circuit in the set of RO circuits. The set of RO circuits comprises a first RO circuit, where the first RO circuit comprises a first trace of first width, and a second RO circuit comprises a second trace (420) of a second, and the first width being greater than the second width. |
| Filed: 5/22/2015 |
| Application Number: US14719535A |
| Tech ID: SD 12533.1 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
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