KR100929722B1 - Semiconductor physical quantity sensor device - Google Patents

Abstract

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a semiconductor physical quantity sensor device, which can be manufactured at a low cost by a CMOS manufacturing process and is electrically trimmed with a small number of terminals. The output characteristics of the sensor element are adjusted based on the memory circuit 12, the main memory circuit 13 for storing the determined trimming data, and the trimming data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit 12 or the main memory circuit 13. And an adjustment circuit 14 configured to include only active elements and passive elements manufactured by a CMOS fabrication process, and further include five to six terminals 21 to 26 on the same semiconductor chip. Form together.

Description

Semiconductor physical quantity sensor device {SEMICONDUCTOR PHYSICAL QUANTITY SENSING DEVICE}

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a semiconductor physical quantity sensor device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a semiconductor pressure sensor device formed on a semiconductor chip to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the principle of a means for determining an external clock and a write voltage of an EPROM.

4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of a shift register in the semiconductor pressure sensor device having the configuration shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an operation mode of the semiconductor pressure sensor device having the configuration shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing the operation timing of the semiconductor pressure sensor device having the configuration shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing the operation timing of the semiconductor pressure sensor device having the configuration shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing operation timing of the semiconductor pressure sensor device having the configuration shown in FIG. 2.                 

FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing an operation timing of a semiconductor pressure sensor device having the configuration shown in FIG. 2.

10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a semiconductor physical quantity sensor device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

11 is a block diagram showing another example of the overall configuration of a semiconductor pressure sensor device formed on a semiconductor chip by applying the present invention.

Description of the main parts of the drawing

1, 101: semiconductor physical quantity sensor device 11: operation selection circuit

12: auxiliary memory circuit 13: main memory circuit

14: adjustment circuit 15: sensor element

16 amplification circuit 17 signal discrimination means

118: transformer circuit 21: ground terminal

22: power supply terminal 23: data input terminal

24: output terminal 25: first recording terminal

26: second recording terminal 31: input / output switching circuit

37: sensitivity adjustment circuit 38: temperature characteristic adjustment circuit

39: offset adjustment circuit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to semiconductor physical quantity sensor devices such as pressure sensors and acceleration sensors for use in various devices such as automobiles, medical devices, or industrial applications. A semiconductor physical quantity sensor device having a configuration to be performed.

As a technique for adjusting the output characteristic of a physical quantity sensor, the conventional laser trimming technique has a drawback that it cannot be readjusted even if the output characteristic is changed in the assembly process after trimming. The technique is used. However, in electrical trimming, since a plurality of control terminals are required for input / output of trimming data, data recording to an EPROM, and the like, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases due to the increase in the number of wire bondings. Therefore, a proposal has been made to electrically trim with a small number of terminals by providing a plurality of operating threshold voltages of the terminals using a resistance voltage divider and a bipolar transistor (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6 (1994) -29555).

However, in the proposal using the bipolar transistor described above, since the EPROM produced by the CMOS process and the bipolar transistor are mixed, there is a problem that a BiCMOS fabrication process is required, resulting in an increase in cost. Therefore, it is conceivable to use a MOS transistor instead of a bipolar transistor in this proposal. However, in this case, since the upper limit value of the threshold voltage which can be set by the MOS transistor is lower than the bipolar, there arises a problem that the interval between the plurality of threshold values becomes narrow and the malfunction easily occurs. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to raise the upper limit of the threshold voltage to the same degree as that of the bipolar. However, it is necessary to increase the voltage resistance of the MOS transistor or to add a new protection circuit, resulting in a cost increase. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a semiconductor physical quantity sensor device which can be manufactured by a CMOS manufacturing process, which is inexpensive, and which can perform electrical trimming with a small number of terminals.

In order to achieve the above object, the semiconductor physical quantity sensor device according to the present invention includes a sensor element, an auxiliary memory circuit such as a shift register for storing temporary trimming data, and a main memory circuit such as an EPROM for storing determined trimming data; And an adjusting circuit for adjusting output characteristics of the sensor element based on trimming data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit or the main memory circuit. These elements and circuits are formed on the same semiconductor chip and consist only of active elements and passive elements manufactured by a CMOS fabrication process. In addition, the semiconductor physical quantity sensor device according to the present invention includes an output terminal, an input terminal of trimming data, a ground terminal, a power supply terminal, and one or two recording terminals for supplying a voltage for recording data to the main memory circuit, and so on. There are a total of five or six terminals, and one of the two recording terminals also serves as a terminal for inputting an external clock. The signal discriminating means then determines whether the voltage applied to the write terminal is a write voltage to the main memory circuit or an external clock.                     

According to the present invention, by measuring the sensor output while gradually changing the temporary trimming data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit, the trimming data which can obtain the desired sensor output is determined, and it is stored in the main memory circuit, and the normal use state In this configuration, the sensor output is adjusted by the adjustment circuit using trimming data stored in the main memory circuit, and these sensor elements, auxiliary memory circuits, main memory circuits, and adjustment circuits are manufactured by the CMOS manufacturing process. It consists of elements and passive elements only, and is also installed on the same semiconductor chip with five or six terminals.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described in detail, referring drawings.

Embodiment 1

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a semiconductor physical quantity sensor device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The semiconductor physical quantity sensor device 1 may be, for example, a sensor element such as an operation selection circuit 11, an auxiliary memory circuit 12, a main memory circuit 13, an adjustment circuit 14, a Wheatstone bridge circuit, or the like. 15), the amplifier circuit 16, the signal discrimination means 17, and the sixth terminals 21 to 26 of the first to sixth.

The first terminal 21 is a ground terminal for supplying a ground potential of the semiconductor physical quantity sensor device 1. The second terminal 22 is a power supply terminal for supplying a power supply voltage of the semiconductor physical quantity sensor device 1. The third terminal 23 is a terminal (data input terminal) for inputting and outputting serial digital data. The fourth terminal 24 is an output terminal for outputting the signal of the semiconductor physical quantity sensor device 1 to the outside. The fifth terminal is a first recording terminal that supplies a voltage higher than the power voltage applied to the second terminal 22. The fifth terminal 25 also serves as a terminal for inputting an external clock. The sixth terminal 26 is a second recording terminal that supplies a voltage higher than the power supply voltage applied to the second terminal 22 and different from the voltage applied to the fifth terminal 25.

The auxiliary memory circuit 12 converts serial digital data supplied from the outside into parallel digital data for internal use at an operation timing based on the external clock. In addition, the auxiliary memory circuit 12 converts the parallel digital data used therein into serial digital data for outputting to the outside. The auxiliary memory circuit 12 also supplies control data to the operation selection circuit 11. The main memory circuit 13 stores trimming data composed of parallel digital data supplied from the auxiliary memory circuit 12 in accordance with the applied voltages of the fifth terminal 25 and the sixth terminal 26.

The operation selection circuit 11 supplies a signal for controlling input and output of data to the auxiliary memory circuit 12 and the main memory circuit 13 based on the control data supplied from the auxiliary memory circuit 12. The sensor element 15 generates an output signal corresponding to the physical quantity of the medium to be measured. The amplifying circuit 16 amplifies the output signal of the sensor element 15 and outputs it to the outside via the fourth terminal 24. The adjustment circuit 14 adjusts the sensitivity in consideration of the temperature characteristic of the sensor element 15 based on the trimming data supplied from the auxiliary memory circuit 12 or the main memory circuit 13, and furthermore, the amplification circuit ( Adjust the offset in consideration of the temperature characteristics in 16).                     

The signal discriminating means 17 determines whether the voltage applied to the fifth terminal 25 is a clock supplied from the outside or a write voltage for writing trimming data to the main memory circuit 13. As a result of the determination, the signal discriminating means 17 supplies the clock to the auxiliary memory circuit 12 in the case of the external clock. On the other hand, in the case of the write voltage, the signal discriminating means 17 supplies the voltage to the main memory circuit 13.

2 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a semiconductor pressure sensor device formed on a semiconductor chip to which the present invention is applied. The semiconductor pressure sensor device 3 includes an input / output switching circuit 31, a shift register 32, a control logic 33, an EPROM 34, a signal selection circuit 35, a D / A converter 36, and a signal. It has a digital circuit part consisting of the discriminating circuit 42. In addition, the semiconductor pressure sensor device 3 includes an analog circuit including a sensitivity adjusting circuit 37, a temperature characteristic adjusting circuit 38, an offset adjusting circuit 39, a gauge circuit 40, and a signal amplifying circuit 41. Have

Input / output switching circuit 31, shift register 32, control logic 33, EPROM 34, signal selection circuit 35, D / A converter 36, signal discrimination circuit 42, sensitivity adjustment circuit ( 37, the temperature characteristic adjusting circuit 38, the offset adjusting circuit 39, the gauge circuit 40, and the signal amplifying circuit 41 are formed on the same semiconductor chip and are manufactured by a CMOS manufacturing process. And passive elements only. In addition, the semiconductor pressure sensor device 3 has a GND terminal 51, a Vcc terminal 52, a DS terminal 53, a Vout terminal 54, and a CG / CLK in order to supply or receive power from an external source. The terminal 55 and the EV terminal 56 are provided.                     

The GND terminal 51 is a terminal for supplying a ground potential to the semiconductor pressure sensor device 3. The Vcc terminal 52 is a terminal for supplying a power supply potential of 5V, for example, although it is not particularly limited to the semiconductor pressure sensor device 3. The DS terminal 53 is a terminal for exchanging serial digital data between the semiconductor pressure sensor device 3 and a circuit (not shown) outside thereof. The Vout terminal 54 is a terminal for outputting the detection signal of the semiconductor pressure sensor device 3 to the outside of the device.

When writing data to the EPROM 34, a voltage higher than the power supply voltage applied to the Vcc terminal 52, but not particularly limited, is applied to the CG / CLK terminal 55, for example, 26V. . The CG / CLK terminal 55 is also supplied with an external clock for driving the shift register 32. When data is recorded in the EPROM 34, the EV terminal 56 is applied to the CG / CLK terminal 55 higher than the power supply voltage applied to the Vcc terminal 52 as the second recording voltage. A voltage different from the voltage, but not particularly limited, for example, 13 V is applied.

The input / output switching circuit 31 supplies a mode for supplying trimming data composed of serial digital data supplied from the outside via the DS terminal 53 to the shift register 32, and serial digital data supplied from the shift register 32. Switching to a mode output to the outside via the DS terminal 53 is performed. The shift register 32 converts serial digital data supplied from the outside into parallel digital data in synchronization with the external clock. The shift register 32 also converts trimming data composed of parallel digital data stored in the EPROM 34 into serial digital data. The shift register 32 has a function as the auxiliary memory circuit 12.

The EPROM 34 stores trimming data composed of parallel digital data supplied from the shift register 32. When trimming data is written to the EPROM 34, both the first and second write voltages are applied. The EPROM 34 has a function as the main memory circuit 13. The signal selection circuit 35 selects either the trimming data composed of parallel digital data supplied from the shift register 32 and the trimming data composed of parallel digital data supplied from the EPROM 34 to select a D / A converter ( 36). The D / A converter 36 converts trimming data consisting of parallel digital data into analog data.

The control logic 33 operates the input / output switching circuit 31, the shift register 32, the EPROM 34, and the signal selection circuit 35 based on the control data supplied from the shift register 32, respectively. Generates and outputs a control signal for controlling. Here, for convenience of explanation, the control signal supplied from the control logic 33 to the shift register 32 is called the shift register control signal 65. The input / output switching circuit 31, the control logic 33, and the signal selection circuit 35 have a function as the operation selection circuit 11.

The signal discriminator 42 determines whether the voltage applied to the CG / CLK terminal 55 is an external clock or a first write voltage for writing trimming data to the EPROM 34. The signal discrimination circuit 42 supplies an external clock to the shift register 32 and a first write voltage to the EPROM 34. The signal discrimination circuit 42 has a function as the signal discriminating means 17.                     

In general, a clock consists of two levels of voltage between a power supply voltage and a ground voltage. Also, in general, the voltage required for writing data to the EPROM 34 is higher than the power supply voltage. Further, even if a voltage equal to or lower than the power supply voltage is applied to the EPROM 34, it does not function at all in data writing. Therefore, the clock and the write voltage can be discriminated by referring to the power supply voltage. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, if the voltage applied to the CG / CLK terminal 55 is equal to or less than the power supply voltage, it is an external clock, and if it is higher than the power supply voltage, it is the first write voltage.

The gauge circuit 40 is comprised by the semiconductor distortion gauge which produces | generates the output signal according to applied pressure, for example. The signal amplifying circuit 41 amplifies the signal generated by the gauge circuit 40 and outputs it externally through the Vout terminal 54. The sensitivity adjustment circuit 37 changes and adjusts (trims) the applied current to the gauge circuit 40 in accordance with the output of the D / A converter 36. Similarly, the offset adjustment circuit 39 changes and adjusts the offset adjustment reference voltage of the signal amplifying circuit 41 in accordance with the output of the D / A converter 36. The temperature characteristic adjusting circuit 38 adds and subtracts the respective outputs of the sensitivity adjusting circuit 37 and the offset adjusting circuit 39 in accordance with the output of the D / A converter 36.

The D / A converter 36, the sensitivity adjustment circuit 37, the temperature characteristic adjustment circuit 38, and the offset adjustment circuit 39 have a function as the adjustment circuit 14. The gauge circuit 40 has a function as the sensor element 15. The signal amplifying circuit 41 has a function as the amplifying circuit 16. The GND terminal 51, the Vcc terminal 52, the DS terminal 53, the Vout terminal 54, the CG / CLK terminal 55 and the EV terminal 56 are the first to sixth terminals 21 to 21. 26) in order.

4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of the shift register 32. The number of bits of the shift register 32 is not particularly limited, but is 52 bits, for example. Among them, three bits store control data 61 supplied to the control logic 33. Following these three bits, either one of the data 62 supplied to the EPROM 34, the trimming data 63 supplied to the signal selection circuit 35, or the data 64 supplied from the EPROM 34 is stored. 48 bits are used to do this. The remaining 1 bit is used as a buffer.

Next, the relationship between various control signals, the applied voltage, and the operation mode of the semiconductor pressure sensor device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. When the external clock is input to the CG / CLK terminal 55 and the EV terminal 56 is in a No-connection (NC) state, two bits (A and B) of the control data 61 are L level. When the enable bit C of the control data 61 is at the L level, and the serial digital data is input to the DS terminal 53, the shift register (SR) control signal 65 is at the L level. The selection circuit 35 selects the EPROM 34 so that the input / output switching circuit 31 becomes an input. As a result, serial digital data is input from the outside to the shift register 32 (mode No. 1).

When the external clock is input to the CG / CLK terminal 55 and the EV terminal 56 is in the non-connected state, two bits (A and B) of the control data 61 are L level, and the control data 61 If the enable bit C of H is at the H level, the shift register control signal 65 is at the L level, the signal selection circuit 35 selects the EPROM 34, and the input / output switching circuit 31 is output. do. As a result, serial digital data is output from the shift register 32 to the outside (mode No. 2).

The enable bit C of the control data 61 is at H level, the input of the DS terminal 53 is at L level, the input of the CG / CLK terminal 55 is at L level, and the first bit of the control data 61 ( When A) and the second bit B are at the H level and the L level, and the EV terminal 56 is in the non-connected state, the shift register control signal 65 is at the L level, and the signal selection circuit 35 shifts. By selecting the register 32, the input / output switching circuit 31 becomes an output. Thereby, trimming is performed using the data stored in the shift register 32 (mode No. 3).

Enable bit C of control data 61 is at L level, DS terminal 53 is at L level, CG / CLK terminal 55 is at L level, EV terminal 56 is not connected. At this time, the shift register control signal 65 becomes L level, the signal selection circuit 35 selects the EPROM 34, and the input / output switching circuit 31 becomes an input. As a result, a steady state is trimmed by using the data stored in the EPROM 34 (mode No. 4).

The enable bit C of the control data 61 is at H level, the input of the DS terminal 53 is at L level, the input of the CG / CLK terminal 55 is at L level, and the two bits of control data 61 (A). And B) are at the H level and the EV terminal 56 is in the non-connected state, the shift register control signal 65 is at the L level, and the input / output switching circuit 31 is the output. As a result, the data stored in the shift register 32 is transferred to the EPROM 34 (mode No. 5).

Enable bit C of control data 61 is H level, input of DS terminal 53 is L level, 2 bits (A and B) of control data 61 are H level, CG / CLK terminal 55 When the write voltage is applied to the EV terminal 56 and the EV terminal 56, the shift register control signal 65 becomes L level, and the input / output switching circuit 31 becomes an output. As a result, the data stored in the shift register 32 is recorded in the EPROM 34 (mode No. 6).

The enable bit C of the control data 61 is at H level, the input of the DS terminal 53 is at L level, the input of the CG / CLK terminal 55 is at L level, and the first bit of the control data 61 ( When A) and the second bit B are at the L level and the H level, and the EV terminal 56 is in the non-connected state, the shift register control signal 65 is at the H level, and the signal selection circuit 35 is the EPROM. 34 is selected, and the input / output switching circuit 31 becomes an output. As a result, the data stored in the EPROM 34 is transferred to the shift register 32 (mode No. 7).

Hereinafter, the procedure of trimming about the semiconductor pressure sensor apparatus 3 is demonstrated. The semiconductor pressure sensor device 3 automatically enters the mode No. described above when a voltage of, for example, 5 V, which is a power supply voltage is input from the Vcc terminal 52. Each terminal is set to be in a normal state of 4. In the initial state without trimming, the EPROM 34 is in the state of All [0] which stores nothing, and the signal amplifying circuit 41 and the Vout terminal 54 at this time are in a saturated state, that is, a power supply potential. Alternatively, either the ground potential or a state close to the potential is reached.

As shown in the timing chart shown in FIG. 6, trimming data is input from the DS terminal 53 while the external clock is input to the CG / CLK terminal 55, and the enable bit C of the control data 61 is set. By setting it to L level, trimming data is stored in the shift register 32 from the exterior (mode No. 1). Thereafter, the trimming stored in the shift register 32 is carried out by setting the CG / CLK terminal 55 and the DS terminal 53 to the L level and enabling the bit C of the control data 61 to the H level. Trimming is performed using data (mode No. 3).

At this time, the sensor output from the Vout terminal 54 is measured. This temporary trimming operation is repeated until the desired sensor output is obtained. In other words, the sensor output is measured while gradually changing the temporary trimming data input from the outside, and the trimming data from which the desired sensor output is obtained is determined.

When the trimming data is confirmed, trimming data already input from the DS terminal 53 is inputted while inputting an external clock to the CG / CLK terminal 55, as shown in the timing chart shown in FIG. By setting the enable bit C to L level, trimming data already determined in the shift register 32 from the outside is stored (mode No. 1). Subsequently, the enable bit C of the control data 61 is set to the H level, the DS terminal 53 is set to the L level, and the CG / CLK terminal 55 is set to the L level. ), The trimming data already determined is transmitted (mode No. 5). Thereafter, write voltages are applied to the CG / CLK terminal 55 and the EV terminal 56, respectively, to record the predetermined trimming data transferred from the shift register 32 to the EPROM 34 (mode No. 6). ).

When the recording ends, the trimming operation is finished, and after that, the semiconductor pressure sensor device 3 is used in the initial state (mode No. 4). By doing so, it is possible to always obtain desired sensor characteristics adjusted based on the trimming data stored in the EPROM 34.

In addition, before starting the temporary trimming operation, temporary trimming data from the DS terminal 53 is input while inputting an external clock to the CG / CLK terminal 55 as shown in the timing chart shown in FIG. By setting the enable bit C of the control data 61 to L level, temporary trimming data is stored in the shift register 32 from the outside (mode No. 1). After that, when the enable bit C of the control data 61 is set to the H level, the temporary trimming data stored in the shift register 32 can be output from the DS terminal 53 (mode No. 2).

This is because the temporary trimming data input from the DS terminal 53 is output to the DS terminal 53 directly after passing through the input / output switching circuit 31 and the shift register 32, so that the shift register 32 and It is determined whether or not the operation of the input / output switching circuit 31 is defective. That is, by executing the timing chart shown in FIG. 8, it is possible to determine whether the operation of the shift register 32 and the input / output switching circuit 31 is defective. On the other hand, in the timing chart shown in FIG. 8, the bit indicated as "ignore" is a bit unrelated to trimming adjustment and may be ignored. The same applies to FIG. 9 described later.

In addition, as shown in the timing chart shown in FIG. 9, when the enable bit C of the control data 61 is set to H level, the DS terminal 53 is set to L level, and the CG / CLK terminal 55 is set to L level, Trimming data stored in the EPROM 34 can be transferred to the shift register 32 (mode No. 7). After the transfer, when the enable bit C of the control data 61 is set to the H level while the external clock is input to the CG / CLK terminal 55, the trimming data stored in the shift register 32 is stored in the DS terminal 53. ) Can be output (mode No. 2). As a result, the trimming data stored in the EPROM 34 can be output from the DS terminal 53. Therefore, the operation of the EPROM 34 is confirmed, or the data retention capability of the EPROM 34 is checked or trimmed. It is possible to investigate the cause of the later failure of the sensor characteristics, which is very effective for quality assurance and management of the semiconductor pressure sensor device 3.

According to the first embodiment described above, by measuring the sensor output while gradually changing the temporary trimming data stored in the shift register 32, the trimming data for obtaining the desired sensor output is determined, and the trimming data is obtained to the EPROM 34. And the sensor output is adjusted by the sensitivity adjusting circuit 37, the temperature characteristic adjusting circuit 38, and the offset adjusting circuit 39 by using the trimming data stored in the EPROM 34 in the normal use state. Each of these components is composed of only active elements and passive elements manufactured by the CMOS manufacturing process, and is provided on the same semiconductor chip together with six terminals 51 to 56, thereby making it inexpensive and small. A semiconductor physical quantity sensor device that can be electrically trimmed by the number of terminals can be obtained.

Embodiment 2

10 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a semiconductor physical quantity sensor device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In the semiconductor physical quantity sensor device 101 according to the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the voltage applied to the fifth terminal 25 is transformed by the transformer circuit 118 to the second terminal 22. The semiconductor physical quantity sensor device 101 generates a voltage that is higher than the power supply voltage to be applied and is different from the voltage applied to the fifth terminal 25, and the generated voltage together with the voltage applied to the fifth terminal 25. The main memory circuit 13 is configured to be supplied.                     

Therefore, in Embodiment 2, a terminal for supplying a voltage higher than the power supply voltage applied to the second terminal 22 and different from the voltage applied to the fifth terminal 25, that is, the sixth of Embodiment 1 Terminal 26 does not exist. The other configuration of the semiconductor physical quantity sensor device 101 shown in FIG. 10 is the same as that in FIG. 1, and therefore, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 are omitted.

11 is a block diagram showing another example of the overall configuration of a semiconductor pressure sensor device formed on a semiconductor chip to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 11, the semiconductor pressure sensor device 103 converts the first recording voltage (for example, 26V) applied to the CG / CLK terminal 55 by the transformer circuit 143 to convert the second recording. It is a structure which generates a voltage (for example, 13V). The first write voltage is supplied to the transformer circuit 143 through the signal discrimination circuit 42. In Embodiment 2, the EV terminal 56 of Embodiment 1 does not exist.

Here, the first write voltage may be, for example, 26 V, which may be reduced by, for example, 13 V by the transformer circuit 143 to be the second write voltage, or vice versa. Since the other structure of the semiconductor pressure sensor apparatus 103 shown in FIG. 11 is the same as that of FIG. 2, the code | symbol same as FIG. 2 is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted. In addition, since the operation | movement and trimming procedure of the semiconductor pressure sensor apparatus 103 shown in FIG. 11 are the same as that of Embodiment 1 except the 2nd recording voltage is produced | generated based on a 1st recording voltage, it demonstrates. Omit.

According to Embodiment 2, the same effect as Embodiment 1 can be acquired with fewer terminal numbers than Embodiment 1 mentioned above.

As mentioned above, this invention is not limited to each embodiment mentioned above, It can change in various ways. The present invention is not limited to the semiconductor pressure sensor device, but can be applied to each sensor device for various physical quantities such as temperature, humidity, speed, acceleration, light, magnetism or sound.

According to the present invention, by measuring the sensor output while gradually changing the temporary trimming data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit, the trimming data for obtaining the desired sensor output is determined, and it is stored in the main memory circuit, and the normal use state is obtained. In this configuration, the sensor output is adjusted by the adjustment circuit using trimming data stored in the main memory circuit, and these sensor elements, auxiliary memory circuits, main memory circuits, and adjustment circuits are active elements manufactured by a CMOS manufacturing process. And a passive element, which is provided on the same semiconductor chip together with five or six terminals, thereby providing a semiconductor physical quantity sensor device which is inexpensive and can be electrically trimmed with a small number of terminals. .

Claims (15)

A sensor element for generating an electrical signal according to the detected physical quantity; An output terminal for outputting an electrical signal generated by the sensor element to the outside; A data input terminal for inputting serial digital data serving as trimming data for adjusting output characteristics of the sensor element; A ground terminal for supplying a ground potential; A power supply terminal for supplying a power supply voltage; An auxiliary memory circuit for temporarily storing trimming data input from the data input terminal; A rewritable read-only main memory circuit which stores trimming data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit by an electrical rewrite operation; A first write terminal for supplying a first write voltage above the power supply voltage for inputting an external clock or for writing data to the main memory circuit; A second write terminal for supplying a second write voltage equal to or greater than the power supply voltage and different from the first write voltage for writing data into the main memory circuit; An operation selection circuit for controlling operations of the auxiliary memory circuit and the main memory circuit based on a part of the digital data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit; Signal discrimination means for determining whether the voltage applied to the first write terminal is an external clock or a first write voltage, supplying an external clock to the auxiliary memory circuit, and supplying a first write voltage to the main memory circuit; , An adjustment circuit for adjusting an output characteristic of the sensor element based on trimming data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit or trimming data stored in the main memory circuit, A semiconductor physical quantity sensor device comprising only an active element and a passive element manufactured by a CMOS fabrication process formed on the same semiconductor chip. The method of claim 1, The signal discriminating means may be referred to as a first write voltage when the voltage applied to the first write terminal is higher than a power supply voltage and an external clock when the voltage applied to the first write terminal is less than or equal to the power supply voltage. Semiconductor physical quantity sensor device. A sensor element for generating an electrical signal according to the detected physical quantity; An output terminal for outputting an electrical signal generated by the sensor element to the outside; A data input terminal for inputting serial digital data serving as trimming data for adjusting output characteristics of the sensor element; A ground terminal for supplying a ground potential; A power supply terminal for supplying a power supply voltage; An auxiliary memory circuit for temporarily storing trimming data input from the data input terminal; A rewritable read-only main memory circuit which stores trimming data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit by an electrical rewrite operation; A write terminal for supplying a first write voltage equal to or greater than the power supply voltage for inputting an external clock or writing data to the main memory circuit; Based on the first write voltage input to the write terminal, a second write voltage that is greater than or equal to the power supply voltage and different from the first write voltage for writing data to the main memory circuit is generated. A transformer circuit for supplying the circuit, An operation selection circuit for controlling operations of the auxiliary memory circuit and the main memory circuit based on a part of the digital data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit; Signal discriminating means for discriminating whether the voltage applied to the write terminal is an external clock or a first write voltage, supplying an external clock to the auxiliary memory circuit, and supplying a first write voltage to the main memory circuit; An adjustment circuit for adjusting an output characteristic of the sensor element based on trimming data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit or trimming data stored in the main memory circuit, A semiconductor physical quantity sensor device comprising only an active element and a passive element manufactured by a CMOS fabrication process formed on the same semiconductor chip. The method of claim 3, wherein And said signal discriminating means is said to be a first write voltage when the voltage applied to said write terminal is higher than a power supply voltage and to be an external clock when the voltage applied to said write terminal is below a power supply voltage. Device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The auxiliary memory circuit converts the input serial digital data into parallel digital data and supplies the same to the circuit inside the device. The method of claim 1, And the adjustment circuit has a sensitivity adjustment circuit that changes and adjusts an applied current to the sensor element to set the sensitivity of the sensor element based on the trimming data. The method of claim 6, The adjusting circuit further includes a temperature characteristic adjusting circuit which adds and subtracts the output of the sensitivity adjusting circuit. The method of claim 1, It further has an amplifier circuit for amplifying and outputting the electric signal generated by the sensor element to the outside, And the adjustment circuit includes an offset adjustment circuit for changing and adjusting the offset adjustment reference voltage of the amplification circuit. The method of claim 6, It further has an amplifier circuit for amplifying and outputting the electric signal generated by the sensor element to the outside, The adjustment circuit has an offset adjustment circuit for changing and adjusting the offset adjustment reference voltage of the amplifier circuit, And the adjustment circuit further comprises a temperature characteristic adjustment circuit for performing an addition and subtraction on each of the outputs of the sensitivity adjustment circuit and the offset adjustment circuit. The method of claim 1, The data input terminal also serves as a terminal for outputting data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit to the outside, The auxiliary memory circuit outputs the stored data as serial digital data, Between the data input terminal and the auxiliary memory circuit, whether serial digital data input from the data input terminal is supplied to the auxiliary memory circuit or serial digital data output from the auxiliary memory circuit is supplied to the data input terminal. The semiconductor physical quantity sensor device which further has an input-output switching circuit which switches. The method of claim 3, wherein And the adjustment circuit has a sensitivity adjustment circuit that changes and adjusts an applied current to the sensor element to set the sensitivity of the sensor element based on the trimming data. The method of claim 11, The adjusting circuit further includes a temperature characteristic adjusting circuit which adds and subtracts the output of the sensitivity adjusting circuit. The method of claim 3, wherein It further has an amplifier circuit for amplifying and outputting the electric signal generated by the sensor element to the outside, And the adjustment circuit includes an offset adjustment circuit for changing and adjusting the offset adjustment reference voltage of the amplification circuit. The method of claim 11, It further has an amplifier circuit for amplifying and outputting the electric signal generated by the sensor element to the outside, The adjustment circuit has an offset adjustment circuit for changing and adjusting the offset adjustment reference voltage of the amplifier circuit, And the adjustment circuit further comprises a temperature characteristic adjustment circuit for performing an addition and subtraction on each of the outputs of the sensitivity adjustment circuit and the offset adjustment circuit. The method of claim 3, wherein The data input terminal also serves as a terminal for outputting data stored in the auxiliary memory circuit to the outside, The auxiliary memory circuit outputs the stored data as serial digital data, Between the data input terminal and the auxiliary memory circuit, whether serial digital data input from the data input terminal is supplied to the auxiliary memory circuit or serial digital data output from the auxiliary memory circuit is supplied to the data input terminal. The semiconductor physical quantity sensor device which further has an input-output switching circuit which switches.

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