SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MEASURING TEMPERATURE AND CURRENT IN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DEVICES
First Claim
1. A monolithic semiconductor device comprising:
- a semiconductor device portion; and
a sensor portion monolithically formed with the semiconductor device portion and configured to sense at least one characteristic of the semiconductor device portion.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments relate to measurement of temperature and current in semiconductor devices. In particular, embodiments relate to monolithic semiconductor, such as power semiconductor, and sensor, such as a current or temperature sensor, device. In embodiments, temperature and/or current sensing features are monolithically integrated within semiconductor devices. These embodiments thereby can provide direct measurement of temperature and current, in contrast with conventional solutions that provide temperature and current sensing near or alongside but not integrated within the actual semiconductor device. For example, in one embodiment an additional layer structure is applied to a power semiconductor stack in backend processing. This monolithic integration provides for localized measurement of temperature and/or current, an advantage over conventional side-by-side configurations.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A monolithic semiconductor device comprising:
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a semiconductor device portion; and a sensor portion monolithically formed with the semiconductor device portion and configured to sense at least one characteristic of the semiconductor device portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A semiconductor device comprising
a semiconductor device portion; -
sensing portion configured to sense at least one of a temperature or a current of the semiconductor device portion; and an isolation layer coupled between the semiconductor device portion and the sensing portion such that the semiconductor device portion, the isolation layer and the sensing portion form a monolithic semiconductor device. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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forming a semiconductor device; forming a sensor device to sense at least one characteristic of the semiconductor device; and forming, an isolation layer to couple the semiconductor device and the sensor device to form a monolithic structure. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. To A method comprising:
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providing a monolithic power semiconductor and sensing device; and sensing a characteristic of the power semiconductor device by the sensing device. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification