Renesas Electronics Corporation

Chiaki Kumahara

Masaaki Hirano

Tetsuhiro Koyama

Akira Tsurugasaki

It is possible to detect a failure in a temperature sensor while preventing enlarging of a circuit scale. A temperature measurement circuitincludes temperature sensorsand, and a comparator. The temperature sensorincludes a temperature detection unitincluding a resistive element, a resistance value of which varies in accordance with temperature changes, and an AD converter which converts a voltage of the temperature detection unitinto a temperature digital value D. The temperature sensorincludes a ring oscillatorwhich oscillates at a cycle that is temperature dependent, and generates a digital value Dbased on an oscillating signal output by the ring oscillator. The comparatorcompares the temperature digital values Dand D, and outputs a signal indicating whether the temperature sensoris normal or not based on a comparison result.

Temperature measurement circuit and method, and microcomputer unit

In one embodiment, a semiconductor device () includes a semiconductor chip () in which functional blocks (etc.) and a temperature sensor () are integrated. In this embodiment, in response to a change in an operation state of the semiconductor device (), the on-chip temperature sensor () operates to switch from a continuous operation in which it continuously measures a chip temperature to an intermittent operation in which it intermittently measures the chip temperature, or to change a time interval between intermittent measurements of the chip temperature.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Chiaki Kumahara