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Temperature sensing circuit

  • US 5,039,878 A
  • Filed: 11/09/1989
  • Issued: 08/13/1991
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1988
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A temperature threshold sensing circuit for an integrated circuit comprising:

  • a semiconductor junction device providing a VBE reference,a proportional-to-absolute-temperature (PTAT) current generator comprising;

    a resistor and a PTAT current source connected in a first series circuit to terminals of a source of supply voltage, anda further PTAT current source connected in a second series circuit with the semiconductor junction device to said terminals of the supply voltage source, and wherein said temperature threshold sensing circuit further comprises;

    means coupled to said resistor and to said semiconductor junction device for detecting whether a voltage developed across the resistor exceeds the VBE reference and for generating an output signal which thereby indicates whether the temperature of the integrated circuit is above or below a predetermined threshold temperature, and wherein the detecting means comprise a voltage comparator for comparing voltage drops across the resistor and the semiconductor junction device.

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