Miniaturized CMOS thermal sensor array for temperature gradient measurement in microprocessors

A miniaturized thermal sensor for use in Intel's microprocessors has been demonstrated in a cutting-edge purely digital process. The circuit shows nearly linear frequency dependence with temperature of 45kHz/°C. The circuit occupies 3.75 × 10
^-3
mm
²
and consumes a current of ~700uA, which makes it suitable to be placed in array on a microprocessor to measure thermal gradients across the die.