Capacitor-referenced temperature sensing
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A temperature sensor comprising:
- a microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) structure having a resistance that varies with temperature;
a complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) capacitive element that exhibits an effective resistance to an alternating current;
circuitry to determine a difference, indicative of change in temperature, between the resistance of the MEMS structure and the effective resistance of the CMOS capacitive element.
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Abstract
The temperature-dependent resistance of a MEMS structure is compared with an effective resistance of a switched CMOS capacitive element to implement a high performance temperature sensor.
61 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A temperature sensor comprising:
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a microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) structure having a resistance that varies with temperature; a complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) capacitive element that exhibits an effective resistance to an alternating current; circuitry to determine a difference, indicative of change in temperature, between the resistance of the MEMS structure and the effective resistance of the CMOS capacitive element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of operation within a temperature sensor, the method comprising:
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generating a first signal representative of a temperature-dependent resistance of a microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) structure; applying an alternating current to a complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) capacitive element to generate a second signal representative of an effective resistance of the CMOS capacitive element; and determining a difference, indicative of change in temperature, between the first and second signals. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A temperature sensor comprising:
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a microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) structure having a temperature-dependent resistance; a complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) capacitive element; means for generating a first signal representative of the temperature-dependent resistance of the MEMS structure; means for applying an alternating current to the CMOS capacitive element to generate a second signal representative of an effective resistance of the CMOS capacitive element; and means for determining a difference, indicative of change in temperature, between the first and second signals.
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Specification