Integrated On-Chip Thermocouple Array
- Technology Benefits
- Accuratelymonitors thermal distribution across microchip within 1°C accuracyIntegratesdirectly into microchipRequiresminimal changes to silicon layoutMaintainsaccuracy after microchip process and temperature variationsRequiresminimal space for thermal sensingMinimizessupport circuitryEliminatesneed to calibrate individual temperature sensors
- Detailed Technology Description
- An array that monitors the thermal distribution across a microchip to an extremely fineresolution in real-time.#semiconductor #materials #component #sensor #optical
- *Abstract
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IOTA consists of thermocouple sensorsfabricated on the microchip. Thisinvention addresses many of the limitations that current temperaturemeasurement techniques, such as diode and digital CMOS sensors, possess, makingit an extremely sensitive and effective technology that further enhances theperformance of microchips. IOTA consistsof three unique parts: thermocouple array, thermal reference point circuitry,and a standard ADC. First, thethermocouple array is compatible with CMOS processing since it uses bimetallicon-chip thermocouples in an array design. The pure metallic composition of the thermocouples eliminates anysensitivity to temperature variation along routing paths. Second, the thermocouple leads are located inproximity to a common thermal reference point for the thermocouples. The temperatures of all thermocouplejunctions within the array can therefore be determined relative to an absolutereference temperature at a single point of the chip. Third, a single ADC unit accommodatesmultiple thermocouples. Resource sharingenables a large number of thermocouples to be used without incurring highoverhead. With a large number ofthermocouples in the array, IOTA is capable of performing fine-grain runtimethermal characterization of microchips. Thermocouple voltage signal can be calibrated with high thermal accuracyand high reproducibility. IOTA scalesextremely well.
- *Inventors
- Jieyi LongChuanle ZhouMatthew Grayson*Andrea KlockSeda Memik
- Country/Region
- USA
