Semiconductor device having an integrated thermocouple

Claim 2

A semiconductor device comprising: a. a semiconductor body; b. at least a thermal energy generating semiconductor circuit element located in said body; c. means for converting a part of the thermal energy generated by said circuit element into an electrical signal, said means comprising a thermocouple comprising at least two electrical conductors of which at least one is disposed in said semiconductor body, said conductors comprising a substantially punctiform temperature-sensitive junction located proximate to said circuit element.

Claim 3

A semiconductor device as recited in claim 1, wherein said temperature-sensitive junction is relatively smaller than thermal energy-generating portions of said circuit element.

Claim 4

A semiconductor device as recited in claim 2, wherein all parts of said thermal energy-generating portions are substantially equidistant from said temperature sensitive junction.

Claim 5

A semiconductor device as recited in claim 3, wherein said thermal energy-generating portions define a strip having a substantially arcuate configuration and said temperature-sensitive junction is disposed at substantially the center of a circle comprising said arcuate strip, said strip having a width dimension smaller than the distance between said strip and said temperature-sensitive junction.

Claim 6

A semiconductor device as recited in claim 1, wherein said circuit element is characterized by having conductive and non-conductive conditions, said element generating thermal energy while it is in said conductive condition, said device further comprising a feedback circuit interconnecting the output of said thermocouple and the electrical input of said circuit element such that an electrical signal from said output switches said circuit element from one of said conditions to the other of said conditions.

Claim 7

A semiconductor device as recited in claim 5, wherein said body comprises a flip-flop circuit comprising at least a first and second transistors, only one of said transistors being electrically conductive at a certain time, said transistors individually comprising emitter, base, and collector zones, said thermocouple comprising first and second temperature-sensitive junctions respectively located proximate to the emitter-basE junctions of said first and second transistors, said device further comprising an amplifier circuit integrated into said semiconductor body, said amplifier circuit electrically connecting said thermocouple and respective said base zones of said transistors, whereby an electrical signal from said thermocouple is supplied to said base zones via said amplifier circuit so that said transistors can be switched.

Claim 8

A device as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of said thermocouple conductors comprises a surface zone of said semiconductor body having a strip configuration.

Claim 9

A device as recited in claim 7, further comprising a metal layer disposed on at least one end of said surface zone, said metal layer and said surface zone comprising a temperature-sensitive junction.

Claim 10

A device as recited in claim 7, wherein said thermocouple comprises a strip-shaped surface zone of said semiconductor body, said surface zone having a first conductivity type and comprising a further zone of a second opposite conductivity type, said surface and further zones forming a p,n junction said device further comprising a metal layer short circuiting said p,n junction.

Claim 11

A device as recited in claim 7, wherein a portion of said surface zone is removed from said temperature-sensitive junctions, said device further comprising an electrically conducting layer covering and electrically contacting said surface zone portion so as to short circuit said surface zone portion.