CMOS Temperature Sensors: From Module Design to System Design

TANG Zhong; YU Xiao-Peng; SHI Zheng; Tan Nianxiong Nick

doi:10.23919/cje.2023.00.425

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Zhong TANG, Xiao-Peng YU, Zheng SHI, et al., “CMOS Temperature Sensors: From Module Design to System Design,” Chinese Journal of Electronics, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 1–10, 2025 doi: 10.23919/cje.2023.00.425

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Zhong TANG, Xiao-Peng YU, Zheng SHI, et al., “CMOS Temperature Sensors: From Module Design to System Design,” Chinese Journal of Electronics, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 1–10, 2025 doi: 10.23919/cje.2023.00.425

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CMOS Temperature Sensors: From Module Design to System Design

doi: 10.23919/cje.2023.00.425

TANG Zhong^{1
,
,},
YU Xiao-Peng^2
,,
SHI Zheng^2
,,
Tan Nianxiong Nick^{1, 2
,}

1.
Vango Technologies, Inc., Hangzhou 310053, China
2.
Zhejiang Univerisity, Hangzhou 310027, China

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Author Bio:
Zhong TANG received the B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 2015 and 2020, respectively. During 2019 to 2020, he was a Visiting Ph.D. Student with EEIC Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. During 2020 to 2023, he was a Postdoc Researcher at Electronic Instrumentation Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands. He is currently an Analog IC Designer with Vango Technologies Inc., Hangzhou, China. His research interests include precision analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits. He has authored or coauthored over 30 technical articles, including seven from the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) and four from the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits (JSSC). Dr. Tang was a recipient of Chinese Institute of Electronics (CIE) Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in 2022, and the Best Speaker Award of Workshop on IC Advances in China (ICAC) 2024. (Email: tangzhong@vangotech.com)

Xiao-Peng YU received the B.E. degree in optical engineering from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 1998, and received the Ph.D. degree from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, in 2006. During 2000 and 2002, he served as an Engineer at MOTOROLA’s Global Telecom Solutions Sector in Hangzhou, Chian, and subsequently joined NTU, Singapore, as a Research Staff Member during 2005 to 2006. Since 2006, Dr. Yu has been affiliated with the Institute of VLSI Design at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, where he holds the position of Qiushi Distinguished Professor. He further expanded his academic horizons as a Visiting Scholar at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), Eindhoven, The Netherlands, during 2008 to 2010, and as a Marie Curie Fellow within the Mixed Signal Microelectronics Group at TU/e, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, a role co-hosted with Philips Research. Dr. Yu’s research is primarily focused on the design and development of analogue, mixed-signal, and radio frequency integrated circuits. (Email: yuxiaopeng@zju.edu.cn)

Zheng SHI received the B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. degrees from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in 1990 and 1992, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 2005. He was a Design Engineer with Symmetry Design Systems, Palo Alto, CA, USA, during 1996 to 2000, and an Electronic Engineer with the Westlake Group, Hangzhou, during 1992 to 1996. In 2000, he began working at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, where he is currently an Associate Professor and the Deputy Director of the Institute of VLSI Design. His current research interests include the design for manufacturability of nanometer-scale integrated circuit (IC), yield enhancement technology, and physical design methodology of IC. (Email: vlsi@zju.edu.cn)

Nianxiong Nick Tan received the B.E. and M.E. degrees from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in 1988 and 1991, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden, in 1994. He is currently a Full Professor at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, and the Chairman of Vango Technologies, Inc., Hangzhou, China, a fabless semiconductor company for the Internet of Energy. Prior to starting up Vango Technologies, Inc., he was the founder and CEO of AnaLutions, Inc., CA, USA, a chip design service company. He also worked as a Design Director at GlobeSpan, NJ, USA, (a Bell lab spinoff), and worked at Ericsson’s Research and Development Center, Stockholm, Sweden. He taught mixed-signal chip design and supervised Ph.D. students at Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. He is an accomplished chip designer and researcher with interests in mixed-signal chip design and agile design methodologies. He holds 32 U.S. patents and numerous Chinese patents. Additionally, he has written three books and book chapters and published over 100 papers. Dr. Tan received the IEEE Outstanding Service Award and numerous Chinese awards for innovation and achievements. He was also an Editor of IEEE Device, Circuits, and System Magazine. (Email: ntan@zju.edu.cn)
Corresponding author: Email: tangzhong@vangotech.com
Available Online: 2024-06-15

Abstract

Abstract

In a smart CMOS temperature sensor, the temperature information is converted to an electrical signal, such as voltage, current, or time delay, and then it is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Instead of categorizing sensors according to their sensing elements, this work introduces different CMOS temperature sensors based on their signal processing domains of the readout circuits. To design a suitable sensor for a specific application, two general design methodologies are also introduced with state-of-the-art examples. Depending on the applications, the corresponding types of the sensor and design methodology can be chosen to optimize the performance.
- CMOS temperature sensor,
- Time domain,
- Voltage domain,
- BJT,
- MOSFET

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References(43)

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