BANDGAP-REFERENCED THERMAL SENSOR
A thermal sensor for an integrated circuit including a bandgap reference circuit. The thermal sensor includes a comparator that compares a temperature dependent voltage generated by the bandgap reference circuit to a temperature independent voltage, where both temperatures are referenced to the bandgap reference voltage generated by the bandgap reference circuit. The thermal sensor generates a digital output control signal based on a predetermined relationship between the temperature dependent voltage and the temperature independent reference voltage. When used as a thermal shutdown circuit, the comparator generates a thermal shut-down signal when the dependent temperature voltage decreases (or increases) with rising system temperature to equal to the temperature independent reference voltage. The comparator is implemented using an operational amplifier that is connected to existing circuitry associated with the bandgap reference circuit.
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This invention relates to integrated circuits, and more particularly to integrated circuits that include both bandgap reference circuits and thermal sensor circuits (e.g., thermal shutdown circuits).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONReferring to the left side of
In general, bandgap reference circuits function as temperature independent voltage reference circuits to provide a bandgap reference voltage Vbg at a voltage level typically around 1.25 V, which is close to the theoretical 1.22 eV bandgap of silicon at 0° K. In the example shown in
where VT is the threshold voltage across resistor R3, and IS1 and IS2 represent the saturation currents of diodes Q1 and Q2, respectively. The same current that flows through resistor R3 also flows through resistor R2, so the voltage across resistor R2 is represented by Equation 2:
Note that Eq. 2 implies that the currents I1 and I2 are both proportional to temperature if the resistors have zero temperature coefficient. The output voltage of op amp C1 (i.e., bandgap reference voltage Vbg) is thus represented by Equation 3:
Eq. 3 implies that bandgap reference voltage Vbg is substantially independent of temperature, with the constant K set by the ratios of R2/R1, R2/R3 and IS2/IS1.
Referring again to
Referring again to
Referring again to
A problem associated with including thermal shutdown circuit 52 is that thermistor 55 and its associated circuitry are additional to any other thermally sensitive circuitry present on an IC having a bandgap reference circuit, and therefore take up a significant amount of valuable silicon area, consume a significant amount of power, and typically require a separate trimming operation (i.e., in addition to the trimming operation mentioned above with reference to bandgap reference circuit 51).
What is needed is a thermal shutdown circuit that minimizes silicon area and power consumption, and simplifies the trimming operations associated with its host IC.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is directed to a thermal sensor that compares a temperature dependent voltage to a temperature independent voltage, both temperatures being referenced to a bandgap reference voltage, and generates a digital output control signal based on a predetermined relationship between the temperature dependent voltage and the temperature independent reference voltage. For example, the thermal sensor may serve as a thermal shutdown circuit that generates a thermal shut-down signal when the dependent temperature voltage is equal to the temperature independent reference voltage.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the temperature dependent and temperature independent voltages utilized by the thermal shutdown circuit are tapped from existing bandgap reference circuitry, thereby providing an accurate thermal sensor output signal simply by adding a circuit that operably compares two selected voltages. The conventional bandgap reference circuits provided on most integrated circuits (ICs) typically include circuit structures (e.g., series-connected resistors/diodes) that that produce temperature dependent voltages having diverging temperature coefficients, and these temperature dependent voltages are combined by the bandgap reference circuit to provide the substantially temperature independent bandgap reference voltage. In addition, these conventional bandgap reference circuits include mechanisms (e.g., trimmable resistors, discussed above) that allow accurate adjustment (trimming) of the bandgap reference voltage to the desired voltage level. Further, each such IC typically includes one or more voltage dividers referenced to the bandgap reference voltage that provide reliable temperature independent reference voltages utilized by the functional circuitry of the IC. The present invention takes advantage of this existing bandgap reference circuitry simply by adding a selected comparator (e.g., an op amp) and providing metal lines that connect to selected nodes at which selected temperature dependent and temperature independent voltages are already generated. The present invention thereby facilitates minimizing the amount of space and power utilized by a thermal sensor added to an IC having a bandgap reference circuit, particularly when compared to conventional thermal shutdown approaches that utilize a dedicated thermistor and associated bias circuitry.
Another advantage of the present invention is that, in trimming the bandgap voltage, the temperature dependent and temperature independent voltages utilized by the thermal sensor are also trimmed “for free”. That is, the present invention eliminates the separate trim operations for the bandgap reference circuit and the thermal sensor that are required by conventional approaches, thereby further reducing manufacturing costs by automatically trimming of the thermal sensor when the bandgap reference is trimmed (i.e., the bandgap reference circuit and the thermal sensor are trimmed simultaneously).
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, where:
The present invention relates to an improvement in integrated circuits incorporating bandgap reference voltages and thermal shutdown functionality. The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention as provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. The terms “coupled” and “connected”, which are utilized herein, are defined as follows. The term “connected” is used to describe a direct connection between two circuit elements, for example, by way of a metal line formed in accordance with normal integrated circuit fabrication techniques. In contrast, the term “coupled” is used to describe either a direct connection or an indirect connection between two circuit elements. For example, two coupled elements may be directly connected by way of a metal line, or indirectly connected by way of an intervening circuit element (e.g., a capacitor, resistor, inductor, or by way of the source/drain terminals of a transistor). Various modifications to the preferred embodiment will be apparent to those with skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments shown and described, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features herein disclosed.
In accordance with the present invention, IC 100 also includes a thermal sensor 130 including a comparator 135 that is operably connected to compare temperature dependent voltage VA with a selected temperature independent voltage VB, and to generates a digital output control signal CS (e.g., a thermal shut-down signal) whose voltage/current level is determined by a selected relationship between temperature dependent voltage VA and temperature independent voltage VB. For example, source S1 and resistors R5 and R6 may be selected such that temperature dependent voltage VA and temperature independent voltage VB when both voltages are equal when die temperature of IC 100 has reached or exceeded a safe operating point. Alternatively, the voltage level of control signal CS may increase or decrease in response to ambient temperature, thereby facilitating data that may be used for thermal analysis of IC 100.
As set forth above, in accordance with an aspect of the invention, temperature dependent voltage VA and temperature independent voltage VB utilized by thermal sensor 130 are tapped from existing bandgap reference circuitry. That is, temperature dependent voltage VA is generated by bandgap reference circuit 110 in order to generate bandgap reference voltage Vbg in a manner similar to that described above with reference to
According to another aspect of the present invention, because both temperature dependent voltage VA and temperature independent voltage VB are referenced to bandgap reference voltage VBE, the act of trimming bandgap reference voltage VBE (e.g., as described above with reference to
Bandgap reference circuit 110A and functional circuit 120 are arranged and operate substantially in the manner described above with reference to
In accordance with the present invention, thermal shutdown circuit (sensor) 130A includes an op amp (comparator) 135A having a non-inverting (+) terminal connected to receive a temperature dependent voltage VA, and a inverting (−) terminal connected to receive a temperature independent voltage VB. In the present embodiment, temperature dependent voltage VA is generated by tapping node N34 between resistors R3 and R4 of bandgap reference circuit 110A (e.g., corresponding to node N21 between resistor R21 and R22 of resistor R2; see
According to an embodiment of the present invention, thermal trip temperature TTRIP is calculated as follows:
re-arranging for T and substituting Eq. 7 into Eq. 8 gives:
The resistor, diode and current ratios are well matched, and q and k are constants so the trip temperature is only dependent on Vbg variation. Trimming Vbg allows this variable to be well maintained to within an arbitrary percentage range, resulting in a trip temperature with approximately the same percentage range, regardless of process variation.
Example values are inserted into Equation 9 (above) as follows:
As set forth above, thermal shutdown circuit 130A provides an accurate thermal trip point simply by adding comparator 135A to an existing bandgap design, and connecting the input terminals of op amp 135A to carefully selected nodes that are referenced to bandgap reference voltage Vbg. That is, the present invention may be incorporated into existing integrated circuits having bandgap reference circuits by adding op amp 135A and providing metal lines between nodes on which temperature dependent voltage VA and temperature independent voltage VB are generated. Because the present invention only requires the addition of an op amp (or other comparator circuit) and associated connections, the present invention is implemented using a smaller amount of costly silicon area and exhibits lower power consumption in comparison to conventional thermal shutdown approaches that utilize a dedicated thermistor and associated bias circuitry.
Although the present invention has been described with respect to certain specific embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the inventive features of the present invention are applicable to other embodiments as well, all of which are intended to fall within the scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. (canceled)
2. The integrated circuit according to claim 5, wherein said means for generating a temperature independent voltage comprises a voltage divider connected between said bandgap reference voltage and ground.
3. (canceled)
4. (canceled)
5. An integrated circuit including:
- a bandgap reference circuit for generating a bandgap reference voltage and a temperature dependent voltage that varies in proportion to an ambient temperature of said integrated circuit and is referenced to said bandgap reference voltage;
- means for generating a temperature independent voltage that is independent of said ambient temperature of said integrated circuit and is referenced to said bandgap reference voltage, and
- a thermal sensor including means for comparing said temperature independent voltage and said temperature dependent voltage, and for generating a control signal based on a predetermined relationship between said temperature dependent voltage and said temperature independent reference voltage,
- wherein said thermal sensor comprises a thermal shutdown circuit including means for generating a thermal shutdown signal when said temperature dependent voltage is equal to said temperature independent voltage,
- wherein said thermal shutdown circuit comprises a first operational amplifier including an inverting input terminal connected to receive said temperature dependent voltage, and a non-inverting input terminal connected to receive said temperature independent voltage, and
- wherein said bandgap reference circuit comprises: a second operational amplifier having an output terminal, an inverting input terminal, and a non-inverting input terminal; a first resistor and a first diode connected in series between the output terminal of the second operational amplifier and ground, wherein the non-inverting input terminal of the second operational amplifier is connected to a first node disposed between said first resistor and said first diode; and a second resistor, a third resistor, a fourth resistor, and a second diode connected in series between the output terminal of the second operational amplifier and ground, wherein the inverting input terminal of the second operational amplifier is connected to a second node disposed between said second and third resistors, wherein the inverting input terminal of the first operational amplifier is connected to a third node disposed between said third and fourth resistors.
6. The integrated circuit according to claim 5,
- wherein said means for generating said temperature independent voltage comprises a voltage divider including a fifth resistor and a sixth resistor connected between the output terminal of the second operational amplifier and ground, and
- wherein the non-inverting input terminal of the first operational amplifier is connected to a fourth node disposed between said fifth and sixth resistors.
7. (canceled)
8. (canceled)
9. An integrated circuit including:
- a bandgap reference circuit for generating a bandgap reference voltage and a temperature dependent voltage that is referenced to said bandgap reference voltage and is proportional to an ambient temperature of said integrated circuit; and
- a thermal shutdown circuit including means for comparing a temperature independent voltage that is referenced to said bandgap reference voltage and is independent of said ambient temperature of said integrated circuit with said temperature dependent voltage, and for generating a thermal shutdown signal when the temperature dependent voltage is equal to the temperature independent voltage,
- wherein said thermal shutdown circuit comprises a first operational amplifier including an inverting input terminal connected to receive said temperature dependent voltage, and a non-inverting input terminal connected to receive said temperature independent voltage, and
- wherein said bandgap reference circuit comprises: a second operational amplifier having an output terminal, a non-inverting input terminal, and a non-inverting input terminal; a first resistor and a first diode connected in series between the output terminal of the second operational amplifier and ground, wherein the non-inverting input terminal of the second operational amplifier is connected to a first node disposed between said first resistor and said first diode; and a second resistor, a third resistor, a fourth resistor, and a second diode connected in series between the output terminal of the second operational amplifier and ground, wherein the inverting input terminal of the second operational amplifier is connected to a second node disposed between said second and third resistors, wherein the inverting input terminal of the first operational amplifier is connected to a third node disposed between said third and fourth resistors.
10. The integrated circuit according to claim 9, further comprising a voltage divider including a fifth resistor and a sixth resistor connected between the output terminal of the second operational amplifier and ground, and
- wherein the non-inverting input terminal of the first operational amplifier is connected to a fourth node disposed between said fifth and sixth resistors.
11. (canceled)
12. An integrated circuit comprising:
- a thermal sensor comprising a first operational amplifier;
- a bandgap reference circuit including a second operational amplifier having an output terminal, an inverting input terminal, and a non-inverting input terminal, a first resistor and a first diode connected in series between the output terminal of the second operational amplifier and ground, wherein the non-inverting input terminal of the second operational amplifier is connected to a first node disposed between said first resistor and said first diode, and a second resistor, a third resistor, a fourth resistor, and a second diode connected in series between the output terminal of the second operational amplifier and ground, wherein the inverting input terminal of the second operational amplifier is connected to a second node disposed between said second and third resistors; and a voltage divider including a fifth resistor and a sixth resistor connected between the output terminal of the second operational amplifier and ground, wherein a first input terminal of the first operational amplifier is connected to a third node disposed between said third and fourth resistors, and wherein a second input terminal of the first operational amplifier is connected to a fourth node disposed between said fifth and sixth resistors.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 3, 2008
Publication Date: Jun 3, 2010
Applicant: Micrel, Incorporated (San Jose, CA)
Inventors: Paul AD Smith (Glasgow), Paul Wilson (Linlithgow)
Application Number: 12/327,699