Scaled dielectric antifuse structure for field-programmable gate array applications

Abstract

A scaled antifuse structure consisting of a nitride-oxide (NO) dielectric sandwiched between two polysilicon layers is presented. In addition to reducing the effective thickness of the antifuse dielectric, the current conduction asymmetry of the NO layer is also utilized to lower the breakdown voltage to 10.6 V, and consequently the programming voltage to 13.5 V, which is lower than that of previously reported antifuse structures. Time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) measurements verify that this scaled antifuse structure exhibits a lifetime exceeding ten years (>1*10/sup 12/ s) at 5.5 V in the unprogrammed state. Since a significant fraction of the total measured antifuse resistance is contributed by the sheet resistance of the polysilicon electrodes, this structure also demonstrates the reduction of this resistance component through silicidation of both top and bottom electrodes in the area outside of the antifuse. This poly-poly antifuse structure offers reduction in programmed voltage, reduction in silicon device area, simple peripheral circuitry design, and faster circuit operation due to lower capacitance than previous poly-N/sup +/ antifuse structures. >