A ±2m°C linearity silicon temperature sensor

Abstract

Linearity of known silicon-based temperature sensors is limited by Early voltage effects [1]. A highly linear temperature sensor based on the base-emitter voltage difference of two bipolar transistors operating at different collector current densities with forward and reverse Early voltage compensation is presented. As it is demonstrated here, the linearity of such a temperature sensor may be increased significantly when compared to uncompensated architectures of silicon-based temperature sensors.