The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 27, 2005
Filed:
Feb. 20, 2004
Michael David Mulligan, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Michael David Mulligan, Palo Alto, CA (US);
National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus are arranged to provide increased sensitivity for a temperature sensor in an integrated circuit such that the accurate temperature sensing is achieved over a broad temperature range. A temperature sense signal from a VPTAT circuit is coupled to a level shifter to provide a level shifted signal. The level shifted signal is coupled to a gain block to provide an output signal with increased signal amplitude. The output signal is fed to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that is in communication with control logic. The control logic dynamically adjusts at least one parameter associated with the level shifter circuit and/or the gain block to maximize the dynamic range associated with the temperature sense signal.