A BIMOS diode matrix for the characterization of static and transient thermal phenomena on silicon

A diode matrix has been designed and processed in SBIMOS technology in order to obtain a better understanding on the static temperature distributions and transient thermal phenomena in the silicon. The diode matrix is shown to be the perfect tool for determining thermal constants and temperature distributions on chip. This information can be used to evaluate the electro-thermal simulator and to provide designers with more practical information in designing temperature critical ICs, resulting in smaller power ICs for the same performance. Temperature-related problems on chip such as offset voltage due to temperature gradients and maximum allowable temperature can be adequately modeled and hence calculated.<>