Power Harvesting Microelectronics

Abstract

Denne oppgaven tar for seg energiutfordringer og energihøsting innen trådløs identifisering (RFID). Historie, energikilder, kretsimplementasjoner og målinger blir presentert. En lav-effekt ladningspumpe produsert i 90 nm CMOS utgjør hoveddelen av oppgaven.

Wireless communication is increasingly popular due to the human urge to be independent and move around without being restricted by wires. With this trend come several challenges regarding both data transmission and how to power the wireless tag. This thesis addresses some of the key aspects of power harvesting, explores power harvesting capabilities in nanometer technology, but also consider different energy sources and discuss their adaptability to wireless identification tags. This thesis will also present a novel charge pump, with improvements using the back-gate or well of MOS devices. The possibilities to improve efficiency, as well as sensitivity, are discussed, and simulations, measurements and discussion of the results are provided at the end. The technology used is 90 nm CMOS.