TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to integrated circuits, and in particular, to an integrated circuit and method for capturing baseline die temperature data for temperature calibration.

BACKGROUND

Integrated circuits (IC), such as analog signal ICs, digital signal ICs, or mixed signal ICs, typically comprise a set of electronic components, such as transistors or other suitable components, inseparably integrated on a small portion of semiconductor material (e.g., silicon or other suitable material) called a die. Modern ICs may integrate millions or billions of electronic components on a die, and may be used in various automotive applications, such as engine control units, power drive systems and antilock brake systems, and other kinds of applications such as desktop computers, laptop computers, mobile computing devices, tablet computing devices, home appliances, stereos, medical devices, and other electronic devices.

Performance, accuracy and/or longevity of components in an IC may depend on operating temperature. Temperature monitoring circuitry, including one or more thermal sensing devices at respective locations on the IC die, may be incorporated such that temperatures at the respective locations may be monitored and/or used to modify operation of the IC and/or used to determine the integrity of thermal paths from the IC to a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA).

It may be useful to calibrate temperature monitoring circuitry of a given IC by querying the IC for temperature readings from its thermal sensing devices, and comparing the temperature readings to a reference temperature of an environment in which the IC is being maintained. However, despite an IC being maintained during calibration within an environment at a reference temperature, self-heating of the IC die due to operation of self-heating components in the IC may result in actual temperatures at locations within the IC being significantly higher than the reference temperature. This may lead to inaccurate calibration. While, in a highly-controlled lab environment, calibration may be attempted while power supplies and internal self-heating components within an IC are disabled and are thus not contributing to internal self-heating, it may not be possible or desirable to disable such elements for calibration while the IC is deployed in mission mode (i.e., while IC circuitry for performing intended functions of the IC is enabled so the IC may function as intended in a system, as contrasted for example with a test mode during which IC circuitry for performing intended functions of the IC may be deliberately at least partly disabled for testing the IC).

SUMMARY

This disclosure relates generally to integrated circuits, and in particular, to an integrated circuit and method for capturing die temperature data for temperature calibration.

An aspect of the disclosed embodiments is a method for capturing integrated circuit (IC) die temperature data. The method includes, responsive to an application of power to the IC, self-initializing the IC by asserting a reset signal for a reset period. The self-initializing also includes, in response to an expiration of the reset period, deasserting the reset signal. The self-initializing also includes, responsive to deasserting the reset signal, automatically obtaining first temperature data from at least one thermal sensing device associated with a die of the IC, and storing the first temperature data in a storage component of the IC.

Another aspect of the disclosed embodiments is an integrated circuit (IC). The IC includes at least one thermal sensing device. The IC also includes self-initializing logic configured to, responsive to an application of power to the IC, assert a reset signal for a reset period and, after expiry of the reset period, deassert the reset signal. The self-initializing logic is also configured to, responsive to the reset signal being deasserted, automatically obtain first temperature data from the at least one thermal sensing device and store the first temperature data in a storage component of the IC.

These and other aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following detailed description of the embodiments, the appended claims, and the accompanying figures.

