
80
Appendix A - Thermal Diode Calculations
AMD Athlon XP Processor Model 8 Data Sheet
25175E—November 2002
Preliminary Information
Equation (1) shows the ideal diode calculation.
Sourcing two currents and using Equation (1) derives the
difference in the base-to-emitter voltage that leads to finding
the diode temperature as shown in Equation (2). The use of
dual sourcing currents allows the measurement of the thermal
diode temperature to be more accurate and less susceptible to
die and process revisions. Temperature sensors that utilize
series resistance cancellation can use more than two sourcing
currents and are suitable to be used with the AMD thermal
diode. Equation (2) is the formula for calculating the
temperature of a thermal diode.
Temperature Offset Correction
A temperature offset may be required to correct the value
measured by a temperature sensor. An offset is necessary if a
difference exists between the lumped ideality factor of the
processor and the ideality factor assumed by the temperature
sensor. The lumped ideality factor can be calculated using the
equations in this section to find the temperature offset that
should be used with the temperature sensor.
Table 29 shows the constants and variables used to calculate the
temperature offset correction.
(1)
V
BE
n
f lumped
k
q
--
T
C
ln
=
(2)
T
-------------------------------–
ln
n
f lumped
k
q
--
I
high
I
low
-------
=
Table 29. Constants and Variables Used in Temperature Offset Equations
Equation Symbol
n
f, actual
n
f, lumped
n
f, TS
I
high
I
low
T
die, spec
T
offset
Variable, Constant Description
Actual ideality factor
Lumped ideality factor
Ideality factor assumed by temperature sensor
High sourcing current
Low sourcing current
Die temperature specification
Temperature offset