International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors 2003の要求清浄度について － シリコンウエハ表面と雰囲気環境に要求される清浄度, 分析方法の現状について －

An RF-DC power conversion system is designed to efficiently convert far-field RF energy to DC voltages at very low received power and voltages. Passive rectifier circuits are designed in a 0.25 mum CMOS technology using floating gate transistors as rectifying diodes. The 36-stage rectifier can rectify input voltages as low as 50 mV with a voltage gain of 6.4 and operates with received power as low as 5.5 muW(22.6 dBm). Optimized for far field, the circuit operates at a distance of 44 m from a 4 W EIRP source. The high voltage range achieved at low load current make it ideal for use in passively powered sensor networks.

Efficient Far-Field Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting for Passively Powered Sensor Networks

The idea of wireless power transfer (WPT) has been around since the inception of electricity. In the late 19th century, Nikola Tesla described the freedom to transfer energy between two points without the need for a physical connection to a power source as an ?all-surpassing importance to man? [1]. A truly wireless device, capable of being remotely powered, not only allows the obvious freedom of movement but also enables devices to be more compact by removing the necessity of a large battery. Applications could leverage this reduction in size and weight to increase the feasibility of concepts such as paper-thin, flexible displays [2], contact-lens-based augmented reality [3], and smart dust [4], among traditional point-to-point power transfer applications. While several methods of wireless power have been introduced since Tesla?s work, including near-field magnetic resonance and inductive coupling, laser-based optical power transmission, and far-field RF/microwave energy transmission, only RF/microwave and laser-based systems are truly long-range methods. While optical power transmission certainly has merit, its mechanisms are outside of the scope of this article and will not be discussed.

Harvesting Wireless Power: Survey of Energy-Harvester Conversion Efficiency in Far-Field, Wireless Power Transfer Systems

More than a decade of research in the field of thermal, motion, vibration and electromagnetic radiation energy harvesting has yielded increasing power output and smaller embodiments. Power management circuits for rectification and DC–DC conversion are becoming able to efficiently convert the power from these energy harvesters. This paper summarizes recent energy harvesting results and their power management circuits.

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Micropower energy harvesting

More than a decade of research in the field of thermal, motion, vibration and electromagnetic radiation energy harvesting has yielded increasing power output and smaller embodiments. Power management circuits for rectification and DC-DC conversion are becoming able to efficiently convert the power from these energy harvesters. This paper summarizes recent energy harvesting results and their power management circuits.

This paper presents a 950-MHz wireless power transmission system and a high-sensitivity rectifier circuit for ubiquitous sensor network tags. The wireless power transmission offers a battery-life-free sensor tag by recharging the output power of a base station into a secondary battery implemented with the tag. For realizing the system, a high-sensitivity rectifier with dynamic gate-drain biasing has been developed in a 0.3-/spl mu/m CMOS process. The measurement results show that the proposed rectifier can recharge a 1.2-V secondary battery over -14-dBm input RF power at a power conversion efficiency of 1.2%. In the proposed wireless system, this sensitivity corresponds to 10-m distance communication at 4-W output power from a base station.

A 950-MHz rectifier circuit for sensor network tags with 10-m distance

A high-sensitivity rectifier is fabricated in a 0.3 /spl mu/m CMOS technology. The circuit can rectify an RF signal less than the NMOS threshold voltage by using a bias voltage between the gate and the drain terminals of a transistor. The IC achieves a 950 MHz signal rectification over -14 dBm corresponding to 10 m-distance communication and recharges a 1.2 V secondary battery.

A 950 MHz rectifier circuit for sensor networks with 10 m-distance

A rectifier circuit includes a bias circuit that outputs a direct-current voltage; a first MOS transistor that has a gate and a source; and a second MOS transistor that has a gate, a source, and a drain connected to the source of the first MOS transistor. Only the direct-current voltage is applied between the gate and the source of the first MOS transistor, and only the direct-current voltage being applied between the gate and the source of the second MOS transistor. The rectifier circuit also includes a coupling capacitor that has a first end which is connected to the source of the first MOS transistor, and a second end to which an alternating-current signal is input.

Rectifier circuit and radio communication device

There is an apparatus includes a voltage acquiring unit which acquires an inter-terminal voltage of the battery cell; a battery information acquiring circuit which acquires battery information of the battery cell with the acquired voltage being supplied as a power supply voltage and; a transformer configured to have a primary winding and a secondary winding, the primary winding being connected to a common wire; a communication circuit which transmits a signal of the battery information to a management unit, supplied with the acquired voltage as a power supply voltage; a rectification circuit which rectifies a signal of a predetermined frequency from the management unit to generate a DC voltage; and a control circuit which controls the supply of the power supply voltages to the battery information acquiring circuit and the communication circuit, the control circuit being supplied with the DC voltage as a power supply voltage.

Battery information acquiring apparatus

A method of setting a wireless link is provided between a first wireless device and a second wireless device in a wireless system. The first wireless device includes an extremely low-power receiver. When the extremely low-power receiver receives a predetermined wireless signal, the receiver turns on the first wireless device, and continues broadcast transmission of a packet periodically without a transmission pause until receiving a response packet from the second wireless device.

Toshiyuki Umeda

Papers

A 950-MHz rectifier circuit for sensor network tags with 10-m distance

A 950 MHz rectifier circuit for sensor networks with 10 m-distance

Rectifier circuit and radio communication device

Battery information acquiring apparatus

Method of setting wireless link, wireless communication device and wireless system