Temperature signatures for performance assessment of circuits with undesired equilibrium states

The use of bidirectional temperature sweeping methods in a standard circuit simulator to determine the presence or absence of multiple equilibrium points in analogue circuits is discussed along with the need for start-up circuits to eliminate undesired stable equilibrium points. Signatures in the temperature characteristics of circuits that may have more than one equilibrium state in their resistive circuit and that are indicative of specific types of performance are identified. It is shown that circuits with some of these signatures present significant challenges for circuit simulation and verification when designed to operate at a single equilibrium point. It is also observed that circuits with some of these signatures can exhibit useful circuit properties but also provide vulnerability to harbour analogue hardware Trojans that can be very difficult to detect.