Research Progress on Low-Power Integrated Temperature Sensor Readout Circuits

Abstract

With continued advances in integrated circuit technology, the demand for portable and miniaturized electronic devices has increased steadily. Meanwhile, electronic systems are becoming increasingly complex, imposing more stringent requirements on battery life. As a core sensing module in electronic systems, integrated temperature sensors are essential for system monitoring and thermal management. However, conventional temperature sensor designs are difficult to apply in portable systems because of their relatively high power consumption. Therefore, the design of low-power integrated temperature sensors has become increasingly important. In a temperature sensor, the readout circuit usually accounts for a dominant portion of the total power consumption. Accordingly, reducing the power consumption of temperature sensors largely depends on the improvement and innovation of readout circuit architectures. This paper systematically reviews the circuit principles and characteristics of different readout circuit architectures. Considering the application scenarios of low-power temperature sensors, several advanced low-power readout circuit architectures and their design methods are discussed in detail. This review aims to provide guidance for the development of more advanced and practical low-power integrated temperature sensors.