Towards a fully-integrated solution for capacitor-based neural stimulation

Charge-mode stimulation (ChgMS) is a relatively new method being explored in the field of electrical neural stimulation. One of the key challenges in such a system is to overcome charge sharing between the storage capacitor and the double layer capacitor in the Electrode-Electrolyte-Interface (EEI). In this work, this issue is overcome by using a second-generation negative current conveyor (CCII-) with a low current tracking error. The level of charge sharing in the circuit is expressed by a new figure of merit (charge delivery efficiency) introduced in this paper. The proposed system has a maximum power efficiency of 76.6% and a total power consumption of 270 μWper electrode for a target charge stimulus of 0.9 nC. Crucially, the system achieves a minimum charge delivery efficiency of 98.22%.

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