Patent attributes
A method and circuit for managing thermal performance of an integrated circuit. Temperature sensing circuits and a plurality of power FETs that are coupled together in parallel are manufactured from a semiconductor substrate. Each temperature sensing circuit monitors the temperature of the portion of the semiconductor substrate near or including a corresponding power FET. When the temperature of the semiconductor substrate near one or more of the power FETs reaches a predetermined value, the corresponding temperature sensing circuit reduces a voltage appearing on the gate of the power FET. The reduced voltage increases the on-resistance of the power FET and channels a portion of its current to others of the plurality of power FETs. The power FET continues operating but with a reduced current flow. When the temperature of the semiconductor substrate falls below the predetermined value, the gate voltage of the power FET is increased to its nominal value.
