Patent attributes
Integrated circuits and methods of permanently disabling integrated circuits are disclosed. An integrated circuit having an erasable non-volatile memory adapted to store an activation code and logic to disable the integrated circuit when the code in the erasable non-volatile memory has been altered or erased after it has been separated from a substrate, is placed into an electromagnetic field of sufficient power to erase or reprogram the erasable non-volatile memory. The entire integrated circuit is permanently disabled by erasing, altering, or reprogramming the erasable non-volatile memory. In preferred embodiments, the integrated circuit comprises a non-erasable non-volatile memory storing the activation code, and circuitry adapted to permanently disable the integrated circuit when the code in the erasable non-volatile memory does not match the activation code in the non-erasable non-volatile memory. Erasing, altering, or reprogramming the erasable non-volatile memory results in a mismatch of the non-volatile memories, which permanently deactivates the integrated circuit.
