Temperature sensor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9515243-B2
Application number	US-201414579154-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 22, 2014
Priority date	Dec 22, 2014
Publication date	Dec 6, 2016
Grant date	Dec 6, 2016

Abstract

Temperature sensor devices and corresponding methods are provided. A temperature sensor may include a first layer being essentially non-conductive in a temperature range and a second layer having a varying resistance in the temperature range.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A temperature sensor device, comprising:
a first electrode,
a first layer portion in electrical contact with the first electrode, the first layer portion being essentially electrically non-conductive in a temperature range,
a second layer portion in contact with a second electrode, the second layer portion having a temperature-dependent electrical resistance in the temperature range, where the second layer portion operates as a temperature-dependent resistor in parallel to a temperature-dependent capacitor, where the first layer portion is above the second layer portion, and
the second electrode in electrical contact with the second layer portion.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the first layer portion comprises a first semiconductor material.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein the first semiconductor material has a dopant concentration below 1×10 11 cm −3 .

4. The device of claim 2 , wherein the first semiconductor material has a band gap of at least 1.5 eV.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the second layer portion comprises a second semiconductor material.

6. The device of claim 5 , wherein the second semiconductor material is doped with at least one dopant, a peak dopant concentration being at least 5×10 12 cm −3 .

7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the dopant concentration in the second semiconductor material varies in a depth direction.

8. The device of claim 7 , wherein the dopant concentration in the second semiconductor material increases from a part of the second layer portion adjacent to the first layer portion towards the second electrode.

9. The device of claim 6 , wherein the dopant generates at least one of a donor level having a distance of at least 0.2 eV from a conduction band or an acceptor level having a distance of at least 0.2 eV from a valence band.

10. The device of claim 5 , wherein the first layer portion comprises a first semiconductor material, wherein the first semiconductor material is based on a same semiconductor as the second semiconductor material.

11. The device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first layer portion or the second layer portion comprises a semiconductor material selected from the group consisting of diamond, boron nitride, amorphous hydrogenated carbon, amorphous silicon, crystalline silicon, silicon carbide, gallium nitride, aluminium nitride or gallium arsenide.

12. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is integrated with a further device to measure the temperature of the further device.

13. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a trench, the first electrode, the first layer portion, the second layer portion and/or the second electrode being located in the trench.

14. The device of claim 1 , wherein the temperature-dependent electrical resistance of the second layer portion varies by at least one order of magnitude over the temperature range.

15. A device, comprising:
a semiconductor device, and
a temperature sensor device, the temperature sensor device comprising a first layer portion, the first layer portion being essentially electrically non-conductive in a temperature range, and a second layer portion, the second layer portion having a temperature-dependent electrical resistance in the temperature range, where the second layer portion operates as a temperature-dependent resistor in parallel to a temperature-dependent capacitor, where the first layer portion is above the second layer portion,
wherein the semiconductor device and the temperature sensor device share at least one terminal.

16. The device of claim 15 , further comprising an electrode electrically coupled with the second layer portion, the electrode being coupled to a terminal of the at least one shared terminal.

17. The device of claim 16 , wherein the electrode is a gate electrode of the semiconductor device.

18. The device of claim 15 , wherein the temperature sensor device is located in a trench of the semiconductor device.

19. The device of claim 15 , wherein the semiconductor device comprises a field effect transistor.

20. The device of claim 19 , wherein the semiconductor device comprises an insulated gate bipolar transistor.

21. The device of claim 19 , wherein a gate dielectric of the field effect transistor forms at least part of the first layer portion of the temperature sensor device.

22. The device of claim 19 , wherein the temperature sensor device is provided in parallel to a gate structure of the field effect transistor.

23. The device of claim 19 , wherein the at least one shared terminal comprises at least one of a gate terminal or a source terminal.

24. The device of claim 23 , further comprising a signal generating circuitry configured to apply a gate control signal between the gate terminal and the source terminal, and to apply a further signal between gate terminal and source terminal.

25. The device of claim 24 , wherein the further signal has a higher frequency than the gate control signal.

26. The device of claim 25 , wherein the frequency of the further signal is at least one order of magnitude higher than the frequency of the gate control signal.

27. The device of claim 24 , wherein an amplitude of the further signal is lower than an amplitude of the gate control signal.

28. The device of claim 24 , wherein the device is further configured to determine a temperature based on a response of the temperature sensor device to the further signal.

29. The device of claim 28 , wherein the signal generating circuitry is configured to modify the gate control signal based on the determined temperature.

30. The device of claim 24 , wherein the second signal generating circuit is configured to generate the further signal only during parts of the gate control signal.

31. The device of claim 15 , further comprising a temperature-dependent resistor coupled between the temperature device and a terminal of the at least one shared terminal, a sign of the temperature dependence of the resistor being opposite to a sign of the temperature dependence of the second layer portion.

Assignees

• Infineon Technologies Ag

Inventors

• Kegler Christian
• Laven Johannes Georg
• Schulze Hans-Joachim
• Ruhl Guenther
• Mahler Joachim

Classifications

• G01K7/343

  the dielectric constant of which is temperature dependant · CPC title

• G01K7/16 Primary

  using resistive elements · CPC title

• H10D62/8503

  Nitride Group III-V materials, e.g. AlN or GaN · CPC title

• H10D62/8325

  Silicon carbide · CPC title

• H10D62/8303

  Diamond · CPC title