The silicon bandgap temperature sensor is an extremely common form of temperature sensor (thermometer) used in electronic equipment. Its main advantage is that it can be included in a silicon integrated circuit at very low cost. The principle of the sensor is that the forward voltage of a silicon diode is temperature-dependent, according to the following equation:
- T = temperature in kelvin
- VG0 = bandgap voltage at absolute zero
- VBE0 = bandgap voltage at temperature T0 and current IC0
- K = Boltzmann's constant
- q = charge on an electron
- n = a device-dependent constant