Temperature Sensor, Electronic Device and Temperature Measurement Method

• US 20130070807A1
• Filed: 03/16/2012
• Published: 03/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Ponomarev, Youri Victorovitch, Nackaerts, Axel
• Application Number:
  US13/422,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20130070807A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 374/178
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/01 using semiconducting elements having PN junctions G01K7/02, G01K7/16, G01K7/30 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/015 using microstructures, e.g. made of silicon

Abstract

Disclosed is a temperature sensor (200) comprising a p-n junction device (110), a current device (120, 130) adapted to provide a sequence of different currents to the p-n junction device, a measurement circuit adapted to measure the voltage characteristics of the p-n junction device as a function of said sequence, and a processor adapted to determine the minimum value of the voltage swing from said characteristics and to convert said minimum value to a temperature value. A method of measuring a temperature using such a device is also disclosed.

Claims

1. Temperature sensor comprising:

a p-n junction device,

a current device adapted to provide a sequence of different currents to the p-n junction device,

a measurement circuit adapted to measure voltage characteristics of the p-n junction device as a function of said sequence, and

a processor adapted to determine a minimum value of a voltage swing from said characteristics and to convert said minimum value to a temperature value.

2. The temperature sensor of claim 1, wherein the current device, the p-n junction device, the measurement circuit and the processor are monolithically integrated.

3. The temperature sensor of claim 1, wherein the current device comprises a plurality of current sources, each of said current sources being conductively coupled to the p-n junction device via a respective switch, the temperature sensor further comprising a controller adapted to individually control said respective switches to provide said sequence.

4. The temperature sensor of claim 1, wherein said sequence covers a range of currents such that the voltage characteristics comprise a full sweep of the current-voltage behavior of the p-n junction device.

5. The temperature sensor of claim 1, wherein the p-n junction device is a transducer.

6. The temperature sensor of claim 5, wherein the transducer is a DTMOS (dynamic threshold metal oxide semiconductor) transistor.

7. The temperature sensor of claim 1, further comprising a memory device adapted to store a measured voltage value for each of the currents in said sequence.

8. An electronic device comprising the temperature sensor of claim 1.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the electronic device provides wireless connectivity and is adapted to wirelessly communicate the measured temperature to an external device.

10. A method of measuring a temperature using a p-n junction device, the method comprising:

providing a sequence of different currents to the p-n junction device;

measuring the voltage characteristics of the p-n junction device as a function of said sequence;

determining a minimum value of a voltage swing from said characteristics; and

converting said minimum value to a temperature value.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said sequence comprises a sequence of increasing current values.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein said sequence covers a range of currents such that the voltage characteristics comprise a full sweep of the current-voltage behavior of the p-n junction device.