Temperature and Heat

Temperature sensors, thermocouples, thermistors, and power transistor heat design

Silicon Temperature Sensors

Temperature and heat play a large role in electronics. It's heat that makes PN junctions and transistors
work, and gives us the relation I = Io exp (qV/kT) for the current across a forward-biased PN junction. T
is the absolute temperature, q the charge on the electron, and k Boltzmann's constant (the gas constant per
molecule). kT/q = 25 mV at room temperature, and is called the thermal voltage. 3kT/2 is the average
kinetic energy of a free molecule, and kT the average energy of a harmonic oscillator at temperature T.
The absolute temperature T is usually measured in kelvin, K, and 0°C is 273.15K. Temperature is actually
not a fundamental concept, just the rate of change of energy with entropy of a system, but is important
because it specifies thermal equilibrium, and the direction of heat flow, on which our personal comfort
also depends. The unit of temperature is arbitrary, as is zero point of temperature scales linearly related to
absolute temperature, such as Celsius, Fahrenheit or Réaumur. None is any more "metric" than another,
but the Celsius scale is the most widely used, and its degree is the same as the Kelvin degree. The
Fahrenheit degree is 5/9 of the Celsius degree, and is 32 when Celsius is zero. All these things are
familiar.

It is not surprising that PN junctions can be used for thermometry. The

differential voltage vd between the bases of a differential amplifier is related to
the currents in the transistors by vd = (kT/q) ln (I1/I2). If the ratio of the currents
can be held constant, then this voltage is proportional to the absolute
temperature, and gives a linear thermometer. This principle is used in the
LM335 temperature sensor, whose input stage is shown at the right. A voltage
divider makes vd exactly 1/50 of the voltage across the device. The difference in
the collector currents of the two transistors in the differential amplifier stage is
fed back to a circuit that adjusts the voltage across the device until a constant
ratio of collector currents results. Since this voltage is proportional to vd, it is
proportional to the absolute temperature. The current ratio is selected to make
the proportionality constant 10 mV/K.

The LM335 is used as in the diagram on the left. The 2k resistor programs the
current to about 1 mA, since the voltage across the LM335 is about 3 V at room
temperature. The 10k potentiometer calibrates the device to exactly 10 mV/K by
a single adjustment, which serves for all temperatures, since the output is linear
and proportional to absolute temperature. The potentiometer can usually be
omitted, since even a random device is fairly well calibrated, and will be in error
by only a degree or two. The LM335 is specified for -40 to 100 °C. Its cousin
LM235 for -40 to 125 °C, and the LM135 over the full range of -55 to 150 °C.
Each of the types can be used intermittently at higher temperatures, up to 200 °C for the LM135, but the
life is reduced. At lower temperatures, of course, silicon stops being a semiconductor. The greatest
restriction on semiconductor temperature sensors is the limited temperature range, but this range includes
most environmental temperatures, so it is very useful. The best thing about them is that they are linear,
and no calibration curves are necessary.

If you want a voltage proportional to Celsius temperatures, you must subtract a

constant 2.7315 V from the output of the sensor. This can be done with op-amp
voltage references, but is a bother. The easy way is to use an LM35 Celsius
temperature sensor, that includes all of this internally. The LM35 comes in the same
TO-92 package as the LM335, but the connections are quite different, as shown in the
diagram on the right. The LM35 needs no programming resistor, and is returned to
ground. The output may be pulled below ground by a resistor that sinks 50 A from the output, if you
want to measure negative temperatures. The circuit is dead simple, as shown at the left. These sensors are
very well calibrated. A random example gave 0.277 V output, or 27.7 °C, when a good mercury
thermometer read 27.5 °C, and this is much closer than required for government work. The LM35 is an
excellent choice for a thermometer. There is a related Fahrenheit sensor, the LM34.

The speed of response of a sensor depends on how rapidly its temperature agrees
with that of its surroundings, whose temperature is desired. In still air, the TO-92
package approaches 90% of its final value in 2 minutes, and is practically in
equilibrium after 4 minutes. In a stirred oil bath, these times are reduced to 2
seconds and 4 seconds, respectively. The thermal time constants quoted are 80s in
still air, 10s in 100 ft/min air, and 1s in stirred oil. These times will be affected by
any covering of the TO-92 to protect it from liquids. To measure the temperature
of a solid, the package can be cemented to the surface to ensure good thermal contact. The usual slip-on
heat sinks can also reduce the equilibration time. In many cases, a desire to measure temperature to
fractions of a degree is relatively useless, since there may be no uniformity or equilibration in the
surroundings.

Thermocouples

Suppose two different conducting wires are brought into contact at the ends, making a closed loop.
Charge carriers can move back and forth between the two conductors at each contact. Usually the rates in
the two directions are not the same, so one conductor loses electrons and becomes positive, and the other
gains electrons and becomes negative. The difference in potential adjusts the rates so that they are equal
in equilibrium. The result is a contact potential. The minute you try to measure this contact potential, you
are frustrated, because you introduce other contacts. All the conductors assume their potentials, but no
current flows in equilibrium. However, if the two contacts are at different temperatures, the corresponding
charge carrier rates of flow are usually different, so the contact potential is different, and a current flows.
An electron picks up energy at the end with greater contact potential, and releases less energy at the end
with the lesser contact potential; the difference appears as resistive heat. This is a kind of heat engine,
which is called the Peltier effect, while the difference in potentials is called the Seebeck effect. The
Seebeck voltage can be used to measure temperature. These thermoelectric effects occur whenever two
different conductors are joined, not just when we want to measure temperature, and can be the source of
strange behavior in some circuits.

A thermocouple is a junction between two dissimilar metals, usually welded

or brazed. If you take two such thermocouples, and connect the same metals
on one side, and measure the voltage between the same metals on the other
side, you will find the Seebeck voltage if the two junctions are at different
temperatures. The junctions with the copper measurement wires exactly
cancel out, if they are at the same temperature. The circuit is shown in the
diagram at the right. One junction is usually held at 0 °C in an ice-water
bath, and is called the cold junction. The other is the hot junction.

The combinations generally used are standardized. A chromel (90 Ni, 10 Cr) - alumel (96 Ni, 2 Mn, 2 Al)
couple is called type K, and gives about 40.28 V/K at room temperature, and is useful up to about 1370
°C. An iron - constantan (55 Cu, 45 Ni) couple is called type J, gives about 51.45 V/K, and is good up to
760 °C. A copper - constantan couple is called type T, gives 40.28 V/K, and is good to 400 °C.
Sometimes seen is the type S couple, platinum - 90 Pt 10 Rh, good up to 1750 °C, but giving only 5.88
V/K. The voltage change with temperature is not linear, but tables are available to correlate voltage and
temperature. There are many variations in the alloys, and the numbers in the references do not always
agree exactly. For rough estimation, 40 V/K can be used for types K and T thermocouples, which gives
1.00 mV at 25 °C.

It is somewhat inconvenient to mess with an ice-water bath, and the bath must be stirred for good
accuracy as well. The cold junction can be replaced by a cold junction compensation circuit that furnishes
the same change in voltage that the couple itself would. If the ambient temperature is above 0 °C, the
extra voltage is supplied to make the output the same as if an actual cold junction was used. At 0 °C, the
circuit must cancel the emf from the junctions of the thermocouple metals to copper, to give a zero
output. At other temperatures, it should give the same mV difference as a cold junction.

A circuit that will do this is shown at the left, with values for a type T
couple. This is not the most convenient circuit, but it shows the
principle clearly. The upper section uses an LM335 to make a voltage
that increases at the same rate as the type T thermocouple voltage,
about 40 V/K. The voltage divider resistors (200k and 856, 200k and
315) should be 1% resistors. The lower section uses an LM329 6.9V
reference to provide a constant voltage equal to the ouput of the
LM335 section at 0 °C., plus the thermovoltage, about 11 mV. My
LM329 gave 6.97V (specs give 6.7 to 7.2 V). Whatever the voltage, it
will not change with temperature (no more than 20 ppm/K for the B
version). Then, when the hot junction is also at 0 °C, the output is
zero, as it should be. The zero adjustment on the LM329
side is very useful.When the ambient temperature
increases, the equivalent voltage from that temperature to zero is added in, just as if a cold
junction were present. All the copper connections should be at the same temperature to avoid
unwanted thermovoltages. Simply to test the circuit, the resistors need not be exact values.
820 and 300 ohms give reasonable results.

I tested the circuits with what I believed to be a type K thermocouple. Putting the thermocouple in ice tea,
the output was adjusted to 0 mV with the 10k pot. The thermocouple by itself gave -1.4 mV in ice tea
when measured by the DMM (some references seem to think this will be zero, but it's not). When the
thermocouple was brought to room temperature (which was about 25 °C, since it was summer), the DMM
showed 1.0 mV. This was on the edge of the meter's sensitivity, so the measurement was rough, showing
only that the circuit was probably working. If you do not get reasonable results, interchange the
thermocouple leads. They look the same, but there are two possibilities, and Murphy's Law says that you
will initially make the wrong assumption. Thermocouples can be purchased from Omega Corporation in
packages of four. Working with this circuit will show you how cold junction compensation works. Next
winter, I shall take it outdoors to actually test the compensation.

Arrays of thermocouples can be used for heating or cooling, taking advantage of the Peltier heat. These
devices require large currents at low voltages, and are not very efficient because of heat conduction
between the hot and cold sides, which are close together and connected by metal. Nevertheless, these
coolers (or heaters) are useful in unusual applications. Thermocouples can also be used to generate
electricity from heat. A thousand in series taking advantage of a 100 °C temperature difference will give
4.0 V. Thermocouples, unfortunately, have low voltages.

Thermistors

The conductivity of a semiconductor may be affected greatly by thermal activation of charge carriers,
which causes the conductivity to increase and the resistance to decrease. A device making use of this
effect is called a thermistor. In the usual negative-coefficient thermistor, the resistance is given pretty
well by the formula R = RO exp(A/T), where T is the absolute temperature. If the natural log of R is
plotted against 1/T, a fairly good straight line results, from which the constant A can be determined. For a
small blue thermistor of resistance 10k at 25 °C, I found A = 3225 K from the table of values furnished
with the thermistor. The resulting formula R = 0.166 exp(3225/T) gave its resistance pretty well over a
wide range. By the DMM, I found the resistance 10.16k at room temperature, and 25.41k in ice tea. This
gives an idea of the range of variation, which is quite large. Thermistors are not linear, and probably not
accurate, but they are very good for rough temperature sensing and very simple to use. Beware of the
heating of the thermistor by the current passing through it.
There are also thermistors with a positive temperature coefficient that use some different kinds of
material, and the temperature dependence of the resistance follows some other law than the one given
above. Ice tea and room temperature are two calibration points. If you use boiling water, remember that
water boils below 100 °C at high altitudes. An immersion heater might provide the boiling, as well as
intermediate temperatures as the water cools down.

While we are at it, it is good to remember that the electrical resistance of copper depends on temperature
according to the equation R = Ro(1 + ot), where t is the Celsius temperature and o is 0.00427. When you
go from freezing to boiling, the resistance of copper wire increases by 43%, which is actually quite a lot.
The temperature coefficient of resistance can be defined as = (1/R)(dR/dT). Even for exact linear
expansion, it is a function of temperature. A transistor obeying the exponential law given above has a
coefficient of -A/T2. For the blue thermistor, this was -0.0376 at 20 °C, while the coefficient of copper at
the same temperature is +0.00393. The thermistor's change is ten times faster than copper's.

The usual 1/4W resistors are carbon film resistors. Lacking information on the temperature coefficient, I
measured a 10k resistor at room temperature and in ice tea. The resistance increased slightly in the ice tea
(as expected for carbon), by about 60 , giving a coefficient of -0.00026. This is a rough measurement,
but shows that the coefficient is low, about 260 ppm/K.

The temperature change of resistance is used to measure temperature over a wide range. A resistance
thermometer may be made of the inert metal platinum, and tables are available of its behavior.

Heat

Heat and electrostatic discharge are the enemies of semiconductor devices. Heat usually is Joule heat, and
its rate of production is P = VI W. Amount of heat Q is measured in joules, J, and a watt is a joule per
second. The heat capacity C of a body is the ratio of the heat transferred to it, divided by the change in
temperature, or Q = C T, and is measured in J/K. The heat capacity of water is 4.186 J/K. The calorie is
4.186 J, so the heat capacity of water is 1 cal/g-K (by definition). The usual food calorie is the kilocalorie,
1000 cal. The Btu is the heat required to raise one pound of water 1°F, or 1054 J. You may often find the
heat capacity of materials, or other thermal quantities, specified in calories or Btu, which is why they are
mentioned here. Heat is random motion of the molecular constituents of matter, better thought of as a
transfer of energy to this form, since it can be transformed into other forms of energy and is not a
quantity, as if it were a fluid. There is no confusion when we are considering the heat produced in
electronics.

Heat is transferred by conduction, convection or radiation. Conduction obeys the law q = (kA/L)(t1 - t2),
where q is the heat flow in W, A is the cross-sectional area, and L the length at whose ends the
temperatures are t1 and t2. The coefficient k is the heat conductivity, in W/cm/K. Copper has a very high
heat conductivity, 3.86 W/cm/K. Nonmetallic substances have conductivities in the region of 0.02
W/cm/K, organic liquids around 0.002 W/cm/K. Water has the highest thermal conductivity of any liquid,
0.0056 W/cm/K. Thermal resistance R is the ratio of heat flow to temperature difference, K/W. We see
that for conduction, R = L/kA, just as for electrical resistance, where k takes the place of the electrical
conductivity. A 1 cm. length of #22 Cu wire has a thermal resistance of 79.6 K/W.

The analogy between thermal and electrical resistance gives many interesting results. Consider a body of
heat capacity C at a temperature To at t = 0, in surroundings at a constant temperature T', with a thermal
resistance of R between the body and its surroundings. If T(t) is the temperature of the body, then q = (T -
T')/R, and also q = C dT/dt. Therefore, (T' - T) = RC(dT/dt), or dT/dt + T/RC = T'/RC. This is analogous
to an RC circuit, and the solution is T - T' = (To - T')exp(-t/RC), or the temperature difference decreases
exponentially to zero. The product RC is the thermal time constant in seconds. The rule that the heat loss
is proportional to the temperature difference is called Newton's Law of Cooling, and is well obeyed when
the heat transfer is by conduction.

In fluids, heat is more readily transferred by convection, where the heat is carried away by the moving
fluid. In natural convection, the density differences due to temperature differences drive the fluid motion.
In forced convection the fluid is moved by a fan or other means. The rate of convective heat transfer is q
= hA(t1 - t2), where t1 is the temperature of the body, t2 the temperature of the fluid away from the body,
and h is the film coefficient in W/cm2/K. For one side of a vertical plate in natural convection in air, an
approximate value of h is 1.78 x 10-4(t1 - t2)0.25. There are different empirical formulas for each case, so no
general rules can be given. We see that the thermal resistance is a function of the temperature difference,
not a constant, and Newton's Law is not obeyed exactly.

The third heat transfer process is radiation. The hot body radiates into its surroundings, and the
surroundings radiate back to the hot body. The net heat radiated is proportional to the difference in the
fourth powers of the absolute temperature. The rate of radiation is q = 5.67 x 10-12eT4 W/cm2, called the
Stefan-Boltzmann Law. e is the emissivity of the surface. For polished metals, it can be quite small, 0.04
for Cu and 0.05 for Al. For an oxidized surface, the emissivity may rise to 0.6 or larger. Most nonmetallic
surfaces, including paint, have high emissivity, which can be taken as 0.9. To see the effect of radiation,
consider a vertical plate of 1 cm2 area at 100 °C, with surroundings at 20 °C. For one side of the plate, the
convection transfer is about 0.425 W, while the radiation transfer is 0.061 (assuming e = 0.9). About 87%
is by convection, 13% by radiation.

The usual TO-92 package transistor is rated at 600 mW at 25 °C, and is rated to be used without any
cooling help. The permissible power above room temperature is found by linearly decreasing the power to
zero at 150 °C, the maximum chip temperature. This corresponds to a thermal resistance of 21 °/W,
junction to ambient (the heat producing element is called the junction). The package is assumed to be
cooled by natural convection, and by conduction down the leads. If a "heat sink" is added, which for the
TO-92 are usually fins, convectional transfer is improved. This may help in getting the maximum current
from small voltage regulators, or in lengthening the life of transistors that run hot.

Power transistors are meant to be used with a separate heat sink,a nd must be properly mounted. One
package is the TO-3, the metal package originally designed for power transistors. The collector of the
transistor is connected to the metal case to facilitate heat transfer. An example is the 2N3055, with
maximum IC of 15A, maximum IB of 7A and maximum VCE 60 V, dissipating up to 115W. Beta is 20 at
IC = 4 A, 5 at 10 A. This is a popular transistor for rugged work, such as power supply pass transistors.
The thermal resistance from junction to case is 1.52 °C/W, and the junction temperature should not
exceed 200 °C. For the full 115W, the thermal resistance to ambient at 25 °C must not exceed 1.52 °C/W,
which not surprisingly is the quoted value. If the heat sink has a thermal resistance of 2.0 °C/W from case
to ambient, then the total thermal resistance would be 3.52 °C/W, and the maximum power would be
175/3.52 = 50W. This calculation must be carried out in each case to determine the permissible power
dissipation, and shows the importance of the heat sink. When making these calculations, consider the
thermal resistances from junction to case, case to heat sink, and heat sink to ambient, and the maximum
junction (usually 150 °C in a plastic package) and ambient temperatures.

A more modern and cheaper package is the TO-220, where the collector is brought out from the plastic
encapsulation to a metal tab for cooling. An example equivalent to the 2N3055 is the 2N6487, with
maximum IC = 15A, IB = 5A and VCE = 60V. The thermal resistance, junction to tab, is 1.67 °C/W, which
means a maximum power dissipation of 75W, assuming a maximum junction temperature of 175 °C. The
smaller TIP29 with a maximum IC of 1A, and a beta of 15 at this current, has a thermal resistance of 4.16
°C/W, which gives a maximum dissipation of 30W. To show the effect of a heat sink, the 2N6487 has a
thermal resistance from junction to ambient of 70 °C/W, which permits a dissipation of only 1.8W. The
TIP29 has a thermal resistance of 62.5 °C/W to ambient. 2W is about the maximum power that can be
dissipated by a TO-220 used without a heat sink. There is also the smaller TO-202 package with a smaller
tab with a "waist" for lower power.

Heat sinks are available in a great number of forms at low cost, and can be made from sheet metal for
special cases. It is often necessary to insulate the case or tab from the metallic heat sink, and this is
usually done with 0.002" mica insulators, which have a low thermal resistance, aided by compounds of
zinc powder in silicone grease. Grease should always be used with mica insulators. Special insulating
pads with low thermal resistance are also available that eliminate the mess of silicone grease. There are
kits for the TO-3 and the TO-220 that contain all that is required for mounting. The 6-32 screws should be
tightened to 8 in-lb torque. Metal-to-metal, the thermal resistance will be about 1 °C/W, 1.6 °C/W for
mica, both greased, for TO-220. For the TO-3, the figures are 0.1 and 0.36, respectively (there is a larger
area). With insulation, transistors can use a metal box or chassis as a heat sink. Where thermal resistance
values are available, the calculations are easy. Sometimes heat sinks are specified for so many watts, and
this could mean a variety of things. Actual temperature measurements can help to make things clear. If
possible, the whole heat sink can be insulated, so that insulators are not necessary between the transistor
and the heat sink. The leads on TO-220 packages are not designed to support the packages, so the tab
should always be supported. This rule is often broken.

Collector junctions can break down under heavy currents and high voltages, before the power limitations
are reached. This is called "second breakdown" and should be considered in critical cases, in addition to
junction temperature. You are always safe if VCE is reduced sufficiently below the maximum value.
Transistor data sheets give graphs showing safe operating areas. BJT's cannot be paralleled without
special considerations, because a hotter junction has a lower voltage drop, which hogs the current and
causes even more heating. A series resistor is generally necessary to equalize the currents safely.
Incidentally, FET's have the opposite characteristic, and can be safely paralleled for higher current. FET's
require little drive, and so are often used, although fragile and inferior to bipolar transistors for power.