Method and Apparatus for Integrated Circuit Temperature Control

An integrated circuit temperature sensing device comprising:

• at least one temperature sensing element positioned in an area of said integrated circuit;
• a first switchable current source, coupled to a first logical switch that is coupled to said at least one temperature sensing element and operative to switch a first excitation current from said first switchable current source through said temperature sensing element to produce a first voltage output therefrom;
• a second switchable current source, coupled to a second logical switch that is coupled to said at least one temperature sensing element and operative to switch a second excitation current from said second switchable current source through said temperature sensing element to produce a second voltage output therefrom;
• a third switchable current source, coupled to a third logical switch that is coupled to said at least one temperature sensing element and operative to switch a third excitation current from said third switchable current source through said temperature sensing element to produce a third voltage output therefrom;
• and
• a mid-range voltage logic coupled to said temperature sensing element, said mid-range voltage logic being operative to:
• measure said third voltage output from said temperature sensing element, wherein said mid-range voltage logic uses said third voltage output as a reference voltage between said first voltage and said second voltage.

A computer readable medium comprising:

• executable instructions for execution by at least one processor, that when executed cause the at least one processor to:
• cause operation of a group of logical switches to generate a first, second and third voltage output from a temperature sensing element of an integrated circuit using a corresponding first switched current source, a corresponding second switched current source, and a corresponding third switched current source, by sequentially switching, using said group of logical switches, a respective first, second and third excitation current through said temperature sensing element, wherein said third switched current source generates said corresponding third voltage output as a reference voltage between said first voltage and said second voltage;
• and
• calculate an error corrected difference between said first voltage and said second voltage using said reference voltage, said error corrected difference for generating temperature data being provided to a temperature controller for preventing heat damage to said integrated circuit.