An adaptive reconfigurable active voltage doubler/rectifier for extended-range inductive power transmission

Modern implantable microelectronic devices (IMDs) require higher performance and power efficiency to enable more efficacious therapies, particularly in neuro-prostheses such as retinal and cochlear implants [1]. Inductive power transmission across the skin is a viable solution for providing sufficient power to such IMDs without imposing size and power constraints of implanted batteries [2]. On the down side, unlike batteries that provide a stable power source, unexpected variations in the coils' mutual coupling from misalignments can lead to wide variations in the received voltage across the secondary coil to the extent that the input voltage may not be sufficient to supply power to the IMD [3]. Hence, there is a need to improve the robustness of inductive power transmission without sacrificing efficiency to allow the IMDs to operate over a wider range of received input voltages. There are also other applications such as wireless sensors and radio-frequency identification (RFID), in which extending the range of loosely coupled inductive links are highly desired.

[1]  Maysam Ghovanloo,et al.  An Integrated Power-Efficient Active Rectifier With Offset-Controlled High Speed Comparators for Inductively Powered Applications , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers.

[2]  Maysam Ghovanloo,et al.  A High Frequency Active Voltage Doubler in Standard CMOS Using Offset-Controlled Comparators for Inductive Power Transmission , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems.

[3]  Seulki Lee,et al.  A 5.2 mW Self-Configured Wearable Body Sensor Network Controller and a 12 $\mu$ W Wirelessly Powered Sensor for a Continuous Health Monitoring System , 2010, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[4]  Mohamad Sawan,et al.  A novel low-drop CMOS active rectifier for RF-powered devices: Experimental results , 2009, Microelectron. J..

[5]  Maysam Ghovanloo,et al.  Design and Optimization of Printed Spiral Coils for Efficient Transcutaneous Inductive Power Transmission , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems.

[6]  Mohamad Sawan,et al.  Integrated High-Voltage Inductive Power and Data-Recovery Front End Dedicated to Implantable Devices , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems.

[7]  Maysam Ghovanloo,et al.  Modeling and Optimization of Printed Spiral Coils in Air, Saline, and Muscle Tissue Environments , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems.

[8]  Maysam Ghovanloo,et al.  Fully integrated power-efficient AC-to-DC converter design in inductively-powered biomedical applications , 2011, 2011 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (CICC).

[9]  M. Ortmanns,et al.  A 232-Channel Epiretinal Stimulator ASIC , 2007, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[10]  Linh Hoang,et al.  An Integrated 256-Channel Epiretinal Prosthesis , 2010, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[11]  Seulki Lee,et al.  A 5.2mW self-configured wearable body sensor network controller and a 12µW 54.9% efficiency wirelessly powered sensor for continuous health monitoring system , 2009, 2009 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference - Digest of Technical Papers.