Shunt voltage regulator with self-contained thermal crowbar safety protection

A voltage regulator that includes a voltage control circuit, fabricated on a semiconductor. The voltage control circuit maintains a voltage between a first node and a second node within a predetermined range by maintaining a current level flowing from the first node to the second node. The current level is a function of a voltage between a third node and the second node. A thermal sensing circuit is also fabricated on the semiconductor and is thermally coupled to the voltage control circuit. The thermal sensing circuit asserts a latch signal that causes the voltage control circuit to allow a saturation value of current to flow from the first node to the second node when the thermal sensing circuit senses that the voltage control circuit has reached a temperature above a predetermined threshold.