BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

The disclosed subject matter relates generally to the fabrication of semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to sensing temperature in a Boolean manner using a phase transition material.

2. Description of the Related Art

In modern integrated circuits, a very high number of individual circuit elements, such as field effect transistors in the form of CMOS, NMOS, PMOS elements and the like, are formed on a single chip area. In addition to the large number of transistor elements, a plurality of passive circuit elements, such as capacitors, resistors and the like, are typically formed in integrated circuits that are used for a plurality of purposes, such as for decoupling.

Polysilicon lines may be used in the fabrication of transistors as gate electrodes. A resistor may also be created using a polysilicon line. The resistance of a polysilicon resistor is determined essentially by its length and cross-sectional area. The resistance of a polysilicon resistor changes with temperature, allowing temperature to be estimated during operation of a device. However, variations in contact chain or wiring resistance can lead to temperature sensing inaccuracies.

The present disclosure is directed to various methods and resulting devices that may avoid, or at least reduce, the effects of one or more of the problems identified above.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is discussed later.

Generally, the present disclosure is directed to the fabrication of semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to sensing temperature in a Boolean manner using a phase transition material. One illustrative device includes, among other things, a substrate, a first resistor comprising a first phase transition material formed above the substrate, the first phase transition material exhibiting a first dielectric phase for temperatures less than a first phase transition temperature and a first semiconductor phase for temperatures greater than the first phase transition temperature, and logic to detect a transition of the first resistor to the first semiconductor phase.

Another illustrative devices includes, among other things, first and second circuits defined on a substrate, a first resistor positioned proximate the first circuit and comprising a first phase transition material, the first phase transition material exhibiting a first dielectric phase for temperatures less than a first phase transition temperature and a first semiconductor phase for temperatures greater than the first phase transition temperature, a second resistor positioned proximate the second circuit and comprising a second phase transition material, the second phase transition material exhibiting a second dielectric phase for temperatures less than a second phase transition temperature and a second semiconductor phase for temperatures greater than the second phase transition temperature, and logic coupled to the first and second resistors to generate a first Boolean indicator associated with the first resistor and a second Boolean indicator associated with the second resistor.

One illustrative method includes, among other things, detecting a first transition of a first phase transition resistor from a first dielectric phase to a first semiconductor phase, wherein the first phase transition resistor comprises a first phase transition material exhibiting a first dielectric phase for temperatures less than a first phase transition temperature and the first semiconductor phase for temperatures greater than the first phase transition temperature, and generating a first Boolean indicator associated with the first phase transition resistor responsive to detecting the first transition.

