MIDDLE-OF-LINE (MOL) METAL RESISTOR TEMPERATURE SENSORS FOR LOCALIZED TEMPERATURE SENSING OF ACTIVE SEMICONDUCTOR AREAS IN INTEGRATED CIRCUITS (ICs)

A method of sensing temperature in a semiconductor die for an integrated circuit (IC), comprising:

• forming a substrate;
• forming an active semiconductor layer above the substrate;
• forming at least one semiconductor device in the active semiconductor layer;
• forming a middle-of-line (MOL) layer above the active semiconductor layer, comprising:
• forming a metal resistor having a resistance and comprising a first metal material in the MOL layer, the metal resistor comprising a first contact area and a second contact area and having a resistance between the first contact area and the second contact area;
• forming a first contact above the metal resistor in the MOL layer and in contact with the first contact area of the metal resistor;
• forming a second contact above the metal resistor in the MOL layer and in contact with the second contact area of the metal resistor;
• forming at least one interconnect layer above the MOL layer;
• forming a first interconnect in the at least one interconnect layer electrically coupled to the first contact, to electrically couple the first interconnect to the first contact area of the metal resistor;
• and
• forming a second interconnect in the at least one interconnect layer electrically coupled to the second contact, to electrically couple the second interconnect to the second contact area of the metal resistor.