US Patent 7304878 Autonomous antifuse cell

An autonomous antifuse cell providing protection against intruders includes an antifuse, sense circuitry, feedback circuitry, program circuitry, and blocking circuitry. The blocking circuitry blocks access of any programming voltage input signals to the antifuse device if the antifuse is previously blown and when power is applied to the cell. In an exemplary embodiment, the antifuse cell uses only a single external access pin. Once the antifuse device is blown and during subsequent power-up operations, intrusion is prevented.