Abstract
Continuous, battery-free operation of sensor nodes requires ultra-low-power sensing and data-logging techniques. Here we report that by directly coupling a sensor/transducer signal into globally asymptotically stable monotonic dynamical systems based on Fowler-Nordheim quantum tunneling, one can achieve self-powered sensing at an energy budget that is currently unachievable using conventional energy harvesting methods. The proposed device uses a differential architecture to compensate for environmental variations and the device can retain sensed information for durations ranging from hours to days. With a theoretical operating energy budget less than 10 attojoules, we demonstrate that when integrated with a miniature piezoelectric transducer the proposed sensor-data-logger can measure cumulative “action” due to ambient mechanical acceleration without any additional external power.
Highlights
Continuous, battery-free operation of sensor nodes requires ultra-low-power sensing and data-logging techniques
From a practical point-ofview, this energy-band configuration can be achieved across a thermally grown gate-oxide, which acts as an FN tunneling barrier that separates a lightly doped n-type semiconductor substrate from an electrically insulated but conductive polysilicon island
Excited electrons tunnel through the triangular FN tunneling barrier onto the floating gate (FG) and cannot escape due to the surrounding electrical insulation
Summary
Continuous, battery-free operation of sensor nodes requires ultra-low-power sensing and data-logging techniques. When the objective is to sense and compute a simple function, like the total signal energy or a cumulative “action”, an application specific but ultra-energy-efficient variant of SPS could be designed by combining the operational physics of signal transduction, rectification and non-volatile data storage One such SPS was reported in refs. We propose a self-powered sensing system, where instead of harvesting the energy to switch between static memory states, the sensing signal is used for modulating a synchronized dynamic state In this regard, dynamical systems, both natural and artificial, have been shown to store information in their dynamic states[14,15,16]. We show the feasibility of this approach for self-powered sensing and data logging, but at chip-scale This is illustrated, which shows two synchronized globally asymptotically stable (G.A.S.) dynamical systems; a sensing system and a reference system. We show that a differential G.A.S. dynamical system[17] a Sensor Input d e
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