Silicon diode temperature sensors—A review of applications

• This paper gives a brief account of temperature sensing techniques and the reasons for the widespread use of silicon diodes as temperature sensors.
• The analytical equations that govern behaviour of silicon thermodiodes when operated in constant current and constant voltage mode have been briefly discussed.
• Various application areas in which researchers have preferred using silicon thermodiodes for temperature monitoring and control have been reviewed.
• For the convenience and quick reference of the interested readers, key specifications and performance attributes of silicon thermodiodes used in different applications have been comprehensively summarized and presented in tabular form.

Most of the variables measured in scientific investigations or engineering applications depend, by varying degrees, on temperature. This necessitates the simultaneous measurement of temperature along with the variable of interest in order to perform high fidelity temperature compensated measurements. Silicon diode based temperature sensors (or silicon thermodiodes) have the advantages of being low cost, having an absolute temperature measurement capability as well as providing the option of on-chip integration with electronic circuits and a wide temperature measurement range. Leveraging these advantages, engineers and scientists have used silicon thermodiodes in numerous and diverse applications. This paper identifies the common temperature measuring techniques, and focuses on the use and advantages offered by silicon diodes operated as temperature sensors in different drive modes. Finally it explores the published literature for summarizing the application areas where such sensors have been utilized successfully in recent years.