A Temperature Sensor With a Thermillator

Abstract

A temperature sensor named a thermillator (thermo-oscillator) is demonstrated, consisting of a single device with an n + -emitter, p-base and n + -collector. The thermillator with a p-base floating body shows inherent oscillation behavior. The underlying mechanism of the thermillator is based on the single transistor latch (STL). Oscillation originates with the iterative charging and discharging process in the floating p-base, and the oscillation frequency ( f ) is sensitively changed by applied temperature. Compared to a temperature sensor with a circuit-based ring oscillator, the single device-based thermillator has the advantages of small footprint area, low hardware cost, and low power consumption.