Optically and electrically programmable silicided polysilicon fuse device
A silicided polysilicon based fuse device that is programmable by optical and electrical energy in the polysilicon layer without damage to nearby structures, comprising: a Si substrate; an insulating layer disposed on the substrate; and a fuse device section comprising poly-Si/a silicide/ and a barrier layer, the fuse device section forming an electrical discontinuity in the poly Si layer in response to an electrical pulse or an optical pulse applied to it.
1. A method of programming selected ones of a multiplicity of fuse devices comprising the steps of:
providing said multiplicity of programmable fuse devices having a first resistance, each of said multiplicity including a section comprising a combination of a poly silicon layer covered by a suicide layer, and a barrier layer covering said combination, said barrier layer suitable for transmitting an optical beam therethrough;
directing an optical beam through said barrier layer and onto said silicide layer of at least one of said multiplicity of programmable fuse devices; and
programming said at least one programmable fuse device without rupturing said combination by increasing the resistance of said at least one programmable fuse device from said first resistance to a second resistance in response to said optical beam being directed onto said silicide layer, wherein said optical beam is in the visual range.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said barrier layer is SiN.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said silicide is selected from the group consisting of cobalt silicide, titanium silicide, tantalum silicide and platinum silicide.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said silicide is cobalt silicide.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein increasing the resistance of said at least one programmable fuse device comprises the step of removing a portion of said silicide layer.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising programming selected ones of said multiplicity of fuse devices by passing a current through said combination of a poly silicon layer and a silicide layer.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein said step of passing a current comprises the step of providing a current of about 10 mA for about 200 microseconds.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein said current is generated by connecting a voltage of about 3.3V across said combination.
9. A method of programming selected ones of a multiplicity of fuse devices comprising the steps of:
providing said multiplicity of programmable fuse devices having a first resistance, each of said multiplicity including a section comprising a combination of a poly silicon layer covered by a suicide layer, and a barrier layer covering said combination, said barrier layer suitable for transmitting an optical beam therethrough;
directing an optical beam through said barrier layer and onto said silicide layer of at least one of said multiplicity of programmable fuse devices; and
programming said at least one programmable fuse device without rupturing said combination by increasing the resistance of said at least one programmable fuse device from said first resistance to a second resistance in response to said optical beam being directed onto said silicide layer, wherein said optical beam is in the NIR (near infrared) range.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said barrier layer is SiN.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein said suicide is selected from the group consisting of cobalt silicide, titanium silicide, tantalum silicide and platinum silicide.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein said silicide is cobalt silicide.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein increasing the resistance of said at least one programmable fuse device comprises the step of removing a portion of said silicide layer.
14. The method of claim 9 , wherein said optical beam is in the visual range.
15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising programming selected ones of said multiplicity of fuse devices by passing a current through said combination of a poly silicon layer and a silicide layer.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein said step of passing a current comprises the step of providing a current of about 10 mA for about 200 microseconds.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein said current is generated by connecting a voltage of about 3.3V across said combination.