Patent ID: 6877897

Claim:
A method for determining a temperature of a semiconductor component with a memory cell having a transistor and a capacitor, the transistor having a controlled path between a source terminal and a drain terminal, the controlled path connecting a bit line to an electrode of the capacitor, which comprises: determining a threshold voltage of the transistor and generating a signal in dependence on the threshold voltage of the transistor, the determining of the threshold voltage and generating of the signal step comprises: determining a definition value for a gate voltage representing the threshold voltage of the transistor, a smaller value of the gate voltage than the definition value determines a first binary state of the memory cell and a larger value of the gate voltage than the definition value determines a second binary state of the memory cell, the second binary state having a value opposite to the first binary state, the determining of the definition value step comprises: a) applying a bit line voltage to the bit line; b) applying a given value for the gate voltage to a gate terminal of the transistor for a period of time for receiving a charge from the bit line and thereby setting a defined charge state in the capacitor; c) removing the bit line voltage from the bit line after the period of time; d) determining the charge state of the capacitor using a read-out circuit, the charge state representing either the first binary state or the second binary state; e) repeating steps a)-d) using different values for the given value; and f) generating the signal in dependence on the determined charge states for the different values of the given value; and determining a value for a temperature of the transistor in dependence on the signal.