Temperature Characteristic Adjustment Circuit Using Nonvolatile Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing temperature compensation circuits for semiconductor devices are large in scale and consume high current, leading to increased chip area and manufacturing variations.
Innovation Solution
A temperature characteristic adjustment circuit utilizing a nonvolatile storage element with a control gate region and source region, driven by a bias between the control gate and source regions, adjusts the temperature dependency of the output signal by modifying the current amount from the current source.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional voltage generation circuits with operational amplifiers and multiple current sources are used for temperature compensation, then temperature characteristics can be adjusted, but chip area increases and current consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the operational amplifier from the temperature compensation circuit, retaining only the essential current source components. This removal of the bulky operational amplifier significantly reduces chip area while preserving the core temperature compensation functionality through direct current mirroring and control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses current mirror circuits to copy and replicate reference currents throughout the temperature compensation network. By copying currents rather than using multiple independent current sources, the circuit achieves temperature compensation with fewer physical components, reducing chip area while maintaining adjustment capability.
2Reliability
If conventional voltage generation circuits with operational amplifiers and multiple current sources are used for temperature compensation, then temperature characteristics can be adjusted, but current consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the operational amplifier from the circuit, which is a major current consumer. By eliminating this high-power component and using passive current mirroring instead, the circuit achieves temperature compensation with dramatically reduced current consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The current source circuit generates and regulates its own operating currents through intrinsic feedback mechanisms and current mirroring, eliminating the need for external operational amplifiers to enforce current relationships. This self-regulating approach reduces overall current consumption while maintaining temperature compensation accuracy.
3Reliability
If conventional voltage generation circuits are used, then temperature compensation is achieved, but manufacturing variations of mismatch coefficient increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the reference current generation and temperature compensation functions into a single integrated current source circuit. By merging these functions and using matched transistor pairs within the same circuit block, manufacturing variations affect all components uniformly, reducing mismatch coefficients and improving precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates tightly coupled current mirror pairs with locally matched transistors positioned close together on the chip. This local arrangement ensures that manufacturing gradients and variations affect both transistors in a pair similarly, minimizing mismatch coefficients and improving temperature compensation accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention aims at providing a temperature characteristic adjustment circuit capable of adjusting the temperature characteristic to various positive and negative temperature characteristics with an excessively small characteristic variation and capable of suppressing an increase in the chip area and the current consumption with a simple circuit configuration. A temperature characteristic adjustment circuit has a current source having a nonvolatile storage element having a control gate region and a source region and driven by the application of a bias between the control gate region and the source region and an output circuit not having a nonvolatile storage element, in which the temperature dependency of an output signal originating from the temperature dependency of the current amount of a current output from the current source is adjusted by the nonvolatile storage element.