Patents by Inventor Steve Choi

Steve Choi has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Enhanced method of testing semiconductor devices having nonvolatile elements
    Patent number: 5982683
    Abstract: An enhanced method of testing semiconductor devices having nonvolatile elements by determining regions of the semiconductor having differing orders of probability that a defect will occur. The enhanced method of testing includes testing of regions from the highest probability to the lowest probability of having a defect. Nonvolatile memory elements in the region being tested are placed in a high impedance state, bypass circuits in the region being tested are activated to bypass the nonvolatile memory elements that control the state of elements in the region being tested and test vectors are applied to the elements that are controlled by the bypassed nonvolatile memory elements. This procedure is repeated for the next untested region having the highest probability of having a defect until all regions have been tested.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: James A. Watson, Fabiano Fontana, Jenny Chui, Steve Choi, Benjamin Lau