Differential temperature sensors: Review of applications in the test and characterization of circuits, usage and design methodology

Abstract

Differential temperature sensors can be placed in integrated circuits to extract a signature ofthe power dissipated by the adjacent circuit blocks built in the same silicon die. This review paper firstdiscusses the singularity that differential temperature sensors provide with respect to other sensortopologies, with circuit monitoring being their main application. The paper focuses on the monitoringof radio-frequency analog circuits. The strategies to extract the power signature of the monitoredcircuit are reviewed, and a list of application examples in the domain of test and characterizationis provided. As a practical example, we elaborate the design methodology to conceive, step bystep, a differential temperature sensor to monitor the aging degradation in a class-A linear poweramplifier working in the 2.4 GHz Industrial Scientific Medical—ISM—band. It is discussed how,for this particular application, a sensor with a temperature resolution of 0.02 K and a high dynamicrange is required. A circuit solution for this objective is proposed, as well as recommendations for thedimensions and location of the devices that form the temperature sensor. The paper concludes with adescription of a simple procedure to monitor time variability.