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Embedded differential temperature sensors can be utilized to monitor the power consumption of circuits, taking advantage of the inherent on-chip electrothermal coupling. Potential applications range from hardware security to linearity, gain/bandwidth calibration, defect-oriented testing, and compensation for circuit aging effects. This paper introduces the use of on-chip differential temperature sensors as part of a wireless Internet of Things system. A new low-power differential temperature sensor circuit with chopped cascode transistors and switched-capacitor integration is described. This design approach leverages chopper stabilization in combination with a switched-capacitor integrator that acts as a low-pass filter such that the circuit provides offset and low-frequency noise mitigation. Simulation results of the proposed differential temperature sensor in a 65 nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process show a sensitivity of 33.18V/°C within a linear range of ±36.5m°C and an integrated output noise of 0.862mVrms (from 1 to 441.7 Hz) with an overall power consumption of 0.187mW. Considering a figure of merit that involves sensitivity, linear range, noise, and power, the new temperature sensor topology demonstrates a significant improvement compared to state-of-the-art differential temperature sensors for on-chip monitoring of power dissipation. 

It is significant to investigate the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation mechanism during the carbon capture process; nevertheless, CaCO3 precipitation is not clearly understood yet. Understanding the carbonation mechanism at the atomic level can contribute to the mineralization capture and utilization of carbon dioxide, as well as the development of new cementitious materials with high-performance. There are many factors, such as temperature and CO2 concentration, that can influence the carbonation reaction. In order to achieve better carbonation efficiency, the reaction conditions of carbonation should be fully verified. Therefore, based on molecular dynamics simulations, this paper investigates the atomic-scale mechanism of carbonation. We investigate the effect of carbonation factors, including temperature and concentration, on the kinetics of carbonation (polymerization rate and activation energy), the early nucleation of calcium carbonate, etc. Then, we analyze the local stresses of atoms to reveal the driving force of early stage carbonate nucleation and the reasons for the evolution of polymerization rate and activation energy. Results show that the higher the calcium concentration or temperature, the higher the polymerization rate of calcium carbonate. In addition, the activation energies of the carbonation reaction increase with the decrease in calcium concentrations.