On the relationship between the temperature coefficient of resistance and the thermal conductance of integrated metal resistors

Abstract

The concepts of temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and thermal conductance ( G th ) entail devices with uniform temperature. However, Joule heated integrated metal resistors usually feature a non-constant temperature profile. After defining an effective TCR and an effective G th , this paper describes simple relationships able to correlate these two parameters with measured quantities. These relationships are applied to the case of the heating element of a micromachined gas sensor and are exploited to derive the effective TCR and G th of the same element when a passivation layer is added on top of it. The information presented in this paper could also provide useful rules of thumb for the verification of finite element modeling simulations.