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. T hermal and electrical quantities may have a strong nonlinear dynamic intera ction that, for instance, generate "unexpected" oscillations. In this paper , some of these phenomena are analyzed by mans of a mixed state-variable ap proach for commonly used semiconductor devices embedded in simple circuits. simulation results show how these effects may be significant in the analys is and design of many circuits.