Impact of aging on temperature measurements performed using a resistive temperature sensor with sensor-to-microcontroller direct interface

Temperature measurements play a critical role in guaranteeing system’s reliability, for a widespread variety of applications, such as automotive, avionics, etc. Temperature measurements can be conveniently performed at low cost using resistive temperature sensors connected to a microcontroller using sensor-to-microcontroller direct interface (SMDI). However, temperature measurements performed using SMDI may be affected by aging phenomena, such as Bias Temperature Instability (BTI), which may compromise its operation in the field. Based on these considerations, in this paper we address the case of temperature measurements performed by a resistive temperature sensor connected to a microcontroller by SMDI. We analyze the impact of BTI on the accuracy of the temperature measurements performed using SMDI. We will show that BTI can seriously degrade the accuracy of such measurements, with possible consequences for system’s reliability. We then describe a possible strategy to compensate such a degraded accuracy in temperature measurements, thus avoiding its impact on system’s reliability.