Compact Thermal Diffusivity Sensors for On-Chip Thermal Management

Today’s systems-on-chip (SOCs) and microprocessors are complex systems that require multiple temperature sensors to monitor temperature variations in multiple spots on a single silicon die. For such thermal management applications, specialized compact and fast temperature sensors are required. This is necessary because executing an intensive process on an SoC can cause local hotspots in a short amount of time, which can compromise reliability. Such temperature sensors should also be compatible with advanced nanometer CMOS technologies, since complex SoCs and microprocessors are typically implemented in aggressively scaled CMOS processes.