Electronic switching element and integrated sensor

1. A circuit comprising:

an electronic switching element,

an integrated temperature sensor that is arranged in the vicinity of the electronic switching element and that comprises a series connection of at least two diodes and an additional diode that is connected anti-parallel across the series connection of the at least two diodes, and

a low-impedance path from one of the terminals of the integrated temperature sensor to one of the terminals of the electronic switching element.

2. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the integrated temperature sensor is part of the electronic switching element.

3. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic switching element and the integrated temperature sensor are arranged on a single chip.

4. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic switching element and the integrated temperature sensor are arranged on a single chip and are separated by at least one dielectric medium, wherein the at least one dielectric medium comprises at least one dielectric layer.

5. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic switching element is a vertical element comprising

a control terminal,

a first terminal, and

a second terminal,

wherein the first and the second terminal are electrically coupled via a signal applied to the control terminal.

6. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic switching element comprises at least one of the following:

a transistor;

a MOSFET;

an IGBT;

a JFET;

a diode; or

a vertical element.

7. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the integrated temperature sensor further comprises a barrier layer connecting at least two conductive elements, and

the barrier layer has a positive temperature coefficient.

8. The circuit according to claim 7 , wherein the barrier layer comprises at least one of the following:

nickel;

aluminum;

iron;

permalloy;

beryllium;

titanium;

titanium-nitride;

tungsten;

titanium-tungsten;

tantalum;

tantalum-nitride; or

copper.

9. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the low-impedance path is provided via one terminal of the integrated temperature sensor being connected to an emitter or a source of the electronic switching element.

10. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the low-impedance path is provided via one terminal of the integrated temperature sensor being connected to an emitter or a source of the electronic switching element via an additional circuitry the series connection of at least two diodes and additional diode that is connected anti-parallel across the series connection of the at least two diodes.

11. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the low-impedance path is provided via an ohmic resistance.

12. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the low-impedance path is provided via at least one additional electronic switching element.

13. The circuit according to claim 12 ,

wherein one of the terminals of the integrated temperature sensor is connected to an emitter or to a source of the additional electronic switching element,

wherein the other of the terminals of the integrated temperature sensor is connected to a base or a gate of the additional electronic switching element, and

wherein a collector or drain of the additional electronic switching element is connected to a collector or drain of the electronic switching element.

14. The circuit according to claim 1 ,

wherein the low-impedance path is provided via a first additional electronic switching element and via a second additional electronic switching element,

wherein one of the terminals of the integrated temperature sensor is connected to an emitter or to a source of the first additional electronic switching element and to a base or gate of the second additional electronic switching element,

wherein the other of the terminals of the integrated temperature sensor is connected to a base or a gate of the first additional electronic switching element and to a emitter or source of the second additional switching element, and

wherein a collector or drain of the first additional electronic switching element and a collector or drain of the second additional switching element are connected to a collector or drain of the electronic switching element.

15. The circuit according to claim 5 , wherein the electronic switching element comprises a transistor, and wherein the control terminal comprises a base of the transistor, the first terminal comprises an emitter of the transistor, and the second terminal comprises a collector of the transistor.