Whereas a fuse is a device that is designed to permanently break an electrically conductive path (typically when the current through the path exceeds a specified limit) an antifuse is designed to permanently create a conductive path. Integrated circuits (ICs) that use antifuse technology employ a thin barrier of non-conducting amorphous silicon between two metal conductors. When a sufficiently high voltage is applied across the amorphous silicon it is turned into a polycrystalline silicon-metal alloy with a low resistance, which is conductive. 200A Industrial fuse. ... In electricity, current is the rate of flow of charges, usually through a metal wire or some other electrical conductor. ... An integrated circuit (IC) is a thin chip consisting of at least two interconnected semiconductor devices, mainly transistors, as well as passive components like resistors. ... Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is the non-crystalline allotropic form of silicon. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms ions (cations) and has metallic bonds, and metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions (cations) in a cloud of electrons. ... A polycrystalline material is made of several smaller crystallites. ... An alloy is a combination, either in solution or compound, of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resultant material has metallic properties. ... Resistance can mean one of: electrical resistance inner resistance antibiotic resistance resistance to a disease (see related subject immunology) a political or military resistance movement against foreign occupation, or more rarely, against ones own government geological resistance fluid resistance thermal resistance This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid...

Certain programmable logic devices (PLDs) use antifuse technology to configure logic circuits and create a customized design from a standard IC design. Antifuse PLDs are one time programmable in contrast to other PLDs that are SRAM based and which may be reprogrammed to fix logic bugs or add new functions. Antifuse PLDs have advantages over SRAM based PLDs in that like ASICs, they do not need to be configured each time power is applied. They may be less susceptible to alpha particles which can cause circuits to malfunction. Also circuits built via the antifuse's permanent conductive paths may be faster than similar circuits implemented in PLDs using SRAM technology. A programmable logic device or PLD is an electronic component used to build digital circuits. ... Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) is a type of semiconductor memory. ... Overview An ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) is an integrated circuit (IC) customised for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use. ... An alpha particle is deflected by a magnetic field Alpha particles or alpha rays are a form of particle radiation which are highly ionizing and have low penetration. ...

Antifuses may be used in programmable read-only memory (PROM). Each bit contains both a fuse and an antifuse and is programmed by triggering one of the two. This programming, performed after manufacturing, is permanent and irreversible. This article relates to the formal social event known as the Prom (short for promenade), usually at the end of the last two school years in America. ...

The antifuse is usually triggered using an approximately 5 mA current. With a poly-diffusion antifuse, the high current density creates heat, which melts a thin insulating layer between polysilicon and diffusion electrodes, creating a permanent resistive silicon link. In physics, the ampere (symbol: A, often informally abbreviated to amp) is the SI base unit used to measure electrical currents. ... A red-hot iron rod cooling after being worked by a blacksmith. ... Polycrystalline silicon or polysilicon or poly-Si is a material consisting of multiple small silicon crystals, and has long been used as the conducting gate material in MOSFET and CMOS processing technologies. ...

Antifuses are also seen in the mini-light (or miniature) style low-voltage Christmas tree lights which are wired in series (the larger, traditional, C7 and C9 style lights are wired in parallel and are rated for 120V or 130V--used in those parts of the world that operate at 110-120V mains). Each bulb has an antifuse (with a fairly high resistance) across it. When the bulb blows the voltage across the antifuse rises significantly and the antifuse shorts out the blown bulb allowing the series circuit to keep functioning. The antifuse is made with a coil of wire over the two vertical wires in the bulb with a high resistance coating this coating melts when it gets hot giving the antifuse action. A Christmas tree in a German home One of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas, the Christmas tree is normally an evergreen conifer tree that is brought in the house or used in the open, and is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during the... The incandescent light bulb uses a glowing wire filament heated to white-hot by electrical resistance, to generate light (a process known as thermal radiation). ...

external links

http://home.howstuffworks.com/christmas-lights2.htm information on use of this method in Christmas lights. Note that they avoid use of the term antifuse presumably because of their non-technical audience.

http://www.animatedlighting.com/learn/bulbs.asp more information on the types of Christmas lights.