Patent ID: 7560954

Claim:
A programmable system-on-a-chip integrated circuit device comprising: a programmable logic block; a digital input/output circuit block; a non-volatile memory block; an analog input/output circuit block including, at least one junction temperature-sensing circuit comprising a diode connected transistor; and a programmable interconnect architecture including programmable elements and interconnect conductors, ones of said programmable elements coupled to said programmable logic block, said non-volatile memory block, said analog input/output circuit block, said digital input/output circuit block, and to said interconnect conductors, such that inputs and outputs of said programmable logic block, said non-volatile memory block, said analog circuit block, said analog input/output circuit block, and said digital input/output circuit block can be programmably coupled to one another; and temperature control logic for executing a temperature control method comprising: switching current through the diode connected transistor from a first current level to a second current level; measuring a difference in voltage across the diode between the first current level and the second current level, converting the difference in voltage to a temperature, and disabling cooling of the system-on-a-chip whenever the temperature does not exceed a first threshold.