US 11,953,531 B2
Sense resistor and method for forming same
Kathryn R. Holland, Cedar Park, TX (US); Bo-Ren Wang, Austin, TX (US); Ravi K. Kummaraguntla, Austin, TX (US); Graeme G. Mackay, Austin, TX (US); and Christian Larsen, Austin, TX (US)
Assigned to Cirrus Logic Inc., Austin, TX (US)
Filed by Cirrus Logic International Semiconductor Ltd., Edinburgh (GB)
Filed on Dec. 10, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/118,330.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/027,576, filed on May 20, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0364560 A1, Nov. 25, 2021
Int. Cl. G01R 27/02 (2006.01); H01C 1/14 (2006.01); H01C 1/16 (2006.01); H01C 17/00 (2006.01)
CPC G01R 27/02 (2013.01) [H01C 1/14 (2013.01); H01C 1/16 (2013.01); H01C 17/00 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus comprising:
a sense resistor comprising:
a plurality of parallel-coupled resistor elements, coupled between a first electrical node and a second electrical node;
a plurality of positive voltage sense points, each positive voltage sense point configured to sense a first voltage at the first electrical node; and
a plurality of negative voltage sense points, each negative voltage sense point configured to sense a second voltage at the second electrical node;
a first passive combination network configured to combine the plurality of positive voltage sense points into a single positive sense terminal; and
a second passive combination network configured to combine the plurality of negative voltage sense points into a single negative sense terminal;
wherein the first passive combination network and the second passive combination network are arranged such that:
a sense voltage is measurable between the single positive sense terminal and the single negative sense terminal; and
a dependence of the sense voltage on a variation in current density in the parallel-coupled resistor elements is minimized.