Electrothermal dynamics of circuits: analysis and simulations

The electrothermal dynamics of electronic circuits is investigated. In the design of circuits, the thermal effects are, in general, analyzed only from a static point of view. These approaches are, in many cases, inadequate. Thermal and electrical quantities may have a strong nonlinear dynamic interaction that, for instance, generates "unexpected" oscillations. In this paper, some of these phenomena are analyzed by means of a mixed state-variable approach for commonly used semiconductor devices embedded in simple circuits. Simulation results show how these effects may be significant in the analysis and design of many circuits.