Patent attributes
A thermal sensor providing simultaneous measurement of two diodes. A first diode and a second diode are coupled to a first current source and a second current source, respectively. The ratio of the currents provided by the two sources is accurately known. The voltage across each of the two diodes may be coupled to the input of a differential amplifier for determination of temperature. Alternatively, the first diode may be coupled to a first current source by a resistor with a known voltage drop, and the second diode may be coupled to an adjustable second current source. The current in the second diode may be adjusted until the voltage across the second diode is equal to the sum of voltage drop across the first diode and the known voltage drop across the resistor. Under the established conditions, the Diode Equation may be used to calculate a temperature.
