Thermal sensors having flexible substrates and use thereof
First Claim
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1. A system comprising:
- a flexible substrate having a body portion and an extension portion;
a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) resonator structure disposed on the body portion of the flexible substrate and a plurality of conductors with contacts at one end of the conductors on the extension portion, the resonator structure to provide an output signal over one or more of the conductors corresponding to a temperature detected by the resonator structure;
a connector connected to a printed circuit board, the connector to receive the contacts; and
a circuit coupled with the connector to receive the output signal from the resonator structure and to analyze the output signal to determine the temperature detected by the resonator structure.
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Abstract
Methods and apparatuses for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) resonator to monitor the platform temperature. Fabricating the resonator on a relatively low cost flexible polymer substrate rather than silicon provides mechanical flexibility as well as design flexibility with respect to sensor placement. Sensor readout and control circuits can be on silicon if desired, for example, a positive feedback amplifier to form an oscillator in conjunction with the resonator and a counter to count oscillator frequency.
45 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a flexible substrate having a body portion and an extension portion; a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) resonator structure disposed on the body portion of the flexible substrate and a plurality of conductors with contacts at one end of the conductors on the extension portion, the resonator structure to provide an output signal over one or more of the conductors corresponding to a temperature detected by the resonator structure; a connector connected to a printed circuit board, the connector to receive the contacts; and a circuit coupled with the connector to receive the output signal from the resonator structure and to analyze the output signal to determine the temperature detected by the resonator structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A thermal management system comprising:
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a plurality of thermal sensors, each thermal sensor comprising a flexible substrate and a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) resonator structure disposed on a body portion of the flexible substrate and a plurality of conductors with contacts at one end of the conductors on an extension portion, the resonator structure to provide an output signal over one or more of the conductors corresponding to a temperature detected by the resonator structure; a plurality of connectors connected to a printed circuit board, the plurality of connectors to receive the contacts from one of the plurality of thermal sensors; a thermal management circuit coupled with the plurality of connectors, the thermal management circuit to monitor the signals from the plurality of thermal sensors, to calculate thermal condition data, and to store the thermal condition data in a memory coupled with the thermal management circuit. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification