A low power consumption thermo-optic variable optical attenuator based on SOI material

A SOI thenno-optic variable optical attenuator with U-grooves based on a multimode interference coupler principle is fabricated. The dynamic attenuation range is 0 to 29 dB; at the wavelength range between 1510 nm and 1610nm, and the maximum power consumption is only l30mW. Compared to the variable optical attenuator without U-groove, the maximum power consumption decreases more than 230mW

A novel low-power input-independent MOS AC/DC charge pump

This paper presents a novel fully integrated MOS AC to DC charge pump with low power dissipation and stable output for RFID applications. To improve the input sensitivity, we replaced Schottky-diodes in conventional charge pumps with MOS diodes with zero threshold, which has less process defects and is thus more compatible with other circuits. The charge pump in a RFID transponder is implemented in a 0.35um CMOS technology with 0.24 sq mm die size. The analytical model of the charge pump and the simulation results are presented.

An Ultra Low Power Non-volatile Memory in Standard CMOS Process for Passive RFID Tags

An ultra low power non-volatile memory is designed in a standard CMOS process for passive RFID tags. The memory can operate in a new low power operating scheme under a wide supply voltage and clock frequency range. In the charge pump circuit the threshold voltage effect of the switch transistor is almost eliminated and the pumping efficiency of the circuit is improved. An ultra low power 192-bit memory with a register array is implemented in a 0.18 mu M standard CMOS process. The measured results indicate that, for the supply voltage of 1.2 volts and the clock frequency of 780KHz, the current consumption of the memory is 1.8 mu A (3.6 mu A) at the read (write) rate of 1.3Mb/s (0.8Kb/s).

A low power high linearity baseband for a direct conversation CMMB tuner

An analog baseband circuit made in a 0.35-μm SiGe BiCMOS process is presented for China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB) direct conversion receivers. A high linearity 8th-order Chebyshev low pass filter (LPF) with accurate calibration system is used. Measurement results show that the filter provides 0.5-dB pass-band ripple, 4% bandwidth accuracy, and -35-dB attenuation at 6 MHz with a cutoff frequency of 4 MHz. The current steering type variable gain amplifier (VGA) achieves more than 40-dB gain range with excellent temperature compensation.This tuner baseband achieves an OIP3 of 25.5 dBm, dissipates 16.4 mA under a 2.8-V supply and occupies 1.1 mm~2 of die size.

A Low Power Dissipation Wide-Band CMOS Frequency Synthesizer for a Dual-Band GPS Receiver

This paper presents a wide tuning range CMOS frequency synthesizer for a dual-band GPS receiver,which has been fabricated in a standard 0.18μm RF CMOS process. With a high Q on-chip inductor, the wide-band VCO shows a tuning range from 2 to 3.6GHz to cover 2.45 and 3.14GHz in case of process corner or temperature variation,with a current consumption varying accordingly from 0.8 to 0.4mA,from a 1.8V supply voltage. Measurement results show that the whole frequency synthesizer consumes very low power of 5.6mW working at L1 band with in-band phase noise less than - 82dBc/Hz and out-of-band phase noise about - ll2dBc/Hz at 1MHz offset from a 3. 142GHz carrier. The performance of the frequency synthesizer meets the requirements of GPS applications very well.

Low power design in 100 MHz embedded SRAM

Low power design method is used in a 100MHz embedded SRAM. The embedded SRAM used in a FFT chip is divided into 16 blocks. Two-level decoders are used and only one block can be selected at one time by tristate control circuits, while other blocks are set stand-by. The SRAM cell has been optimized and the cell area has been minimized at the same time.

Modeling study on the flow, heat transfer and energy conversion characteristics of low-power arc-heated hydrogen/nitrogen thrusters

A modeling study is conducted to investigate the effect of hydrogen content in propellants on the plasma flow, heat transfer and energy conversion characteristics of low-power (kW class) arc-heated hydrogen/nitrogen thrusters (arcjets). 1:0 (pure hydrogen), 3:1 (to simulate decomposed ammonia), 2:1 (to simulate decomposed hydrazine) and 0:1 (pure nitrogen) hydrogen/nitrogen mixtures are chosen as the propellants. Both the gas flow region inside the thruster nozzle and the anode-nozzle wall are included in the computational domain in order to better treat the conjugate heat transfer between the gas flow region and the solid wall region. The axial variations of the enthalpy flux, kinetic energy flux, directed kinetic-energy flux, and momentum flux, all normalized to the mass flow rate of the propellant, are used to investigate the energy conversion process inside the thruster nozzle. The modeling results show that the values of the arc voltage, the gas axial-velocity at the thruster exit, and the specific impulse of the arcjet thruster all increase with increasing hydrogen content in the propellant, but the gas temperature at the nitrogen thruster exit is significantly higher than that for other three propellants. The flow, heat transfer, and energy conversion processes taking place in the thruster nozzle have some common features for all the four propellants. The propellant is heated mainly in the near-cathode and constrictor region, accompanied with a rapid increase of the enthalpy flux, and after achieving its maximum value, the enthalpy flux decreases appreciably due to the conversion of gas internal energy into its kinetic energy in the divergent segment of the thruster nozzle. The kinetic energy flux, directed kinetic energy flux and momentum flux also increase at first due to the arc heating and the thermodynamic expansion, assume their maximum inside the nozzle and then decrease gradually as the propellant flows toward the thruster exit. It is found that a large energy loss (31-52%) occurs in the thruster nozzle due to the heat transfer to the nozzle wall and too long nozzle is not necessary. Modeling results for the NASA 1-kW class arcjet thruster with hydrogen or decomposed hydrazine as the propellant are found to compare favorably with available experimental data.

Modeling study to compare the flow and heat transfer characteristics of low-power hydrogen, nitrogen and argon arc-heated thrusters

A modelling study is performed to compare the plasma °ow and heat transfer char- acteristics of low-power arc-heated thrusters (arcjets) for three di®erent propellants: hydrogen, nitrogen and argon. The all-speed SIMPLE algorithm is employed to solve the governing equa- tions, which take into account the e®ects of compressibility, Lorentz force and Joule heating, as well as the temperature- and pressure-dependence of the gas properties. The temperature, veloc- ity and Mach number distributions calculated within the thruster nozzle obtained with di®erent propellant gases are compared for the same thruster structure, dimensions, inlet-gas stagnant pressure and arc currents. The temperature distributions in the solid region of the anode-nozzle wall are also given. It is found that the °ow and energy conversion processes in the thruster nozzle show many similar features for all three propellants. For example, the propellant is heated mainly in the near-cathode and constrictor region, with the highest plasma temperature appear- ing near the cathode tip; the °ow transition from the subsonic to supersonic regime occurs within the constrictor region; the highest axial velocity appears inside the nozzle; and most of the input propellant °ows towards the thruster exit through the cooler gas region near the anode-nozzle wall. However, since the properties of hydrogen, nitrogen and argon, especially their molecular weights, speci¯c enthalpies and thermal conductivities, are di®erent, there are appreciable di®er- ences in arcjet performance. For example, compared to the other two propellants, the hydrogen arcjet thruster shows a higher plasma temperature in the arc region, and higher axial velocity but lower temperature at the thruster exit. Correspondingly, the hydrogen arcjet thruster has the highest speci¯c impulse and arc voltage for the same inlet stagnant pressure and arc current. The predictions of the modelling are compared favourably with available experimental results.

Numerical modeling of heat transfer and plasma flow in a low power arcjet thruster

Modeling studies are preformed to investigate the plasma and heat transfer characteristics of a low power argon arcjet thruster. Computed temperature, velocity, static pressure, and Mach number distribution in arcjet thruster under typical operating condition are presented in this paper. It shows that the performance data from numerical modeling results are basically consistent with the experimental measured values.

Volt-ampere characteristics, nozzle temperature and thruster performances in a low power argon arcjet

Argon gas with simple atomic structure and favorite arcing stability at low input power was used as the propellant. The thruster with a regeneratively cooled nozzle were tested in a vacuum system capable of keeping the chamber pressure at about 10 Pa at a propellant feeding rate of 5 slm. Arc current, arc voltage, thrust, nozzle temperature and propellant feeding rate were measured in situ simultaneously. Effects of the working parameters such as the propellant feeding rate and arc current on the thruster performances, mainly the produced thrust, specific impulse and thrust efficiency, were examined. The variation of arc volt-ampere characteristics with running time and the effect of nozzle temperature on thruster property are discussed.

Numerical Simulation of a Low-power Hydrazine Arcjet Thruster

A modeling study is conducted to investigate the plasma flow and heat transfer characteristics of low-power (kW class) arc-heated thrusters (arcjets) with 2:1 hydrogen/nitrogen to simulate decomposed hydrazine as the propellant. The all-speed SIMPLE algorithm is employed to solve the governing equations, which take into account the effects of compressibility, the Lorentz force and Joule heating, as well as the temperature- and pressure-dependence of the gas properties. Typical computed results about the temperature, velocity and Mach number distributions within arcjet thruster are presented for the case with arc current of 9 A and inlet stagnant pressure of 3.3×105 Pa to show the flow and heat transfer characteristics. It is found that the propellant is heated mainly in the near-cathode and constrictor region, with the highest plasma temperature appearing near the cathode tip, and the flow transition from the subsonic to supersonic regime occurs within the constrictor region. The effect of gas viscosity on the plasma flow within arcjet thruster is examined by an additional numerical test using artificially reduced values of gas viscosity. The test results show that the gas viscosity appreciably affects the plasma flow and the performance of the arcjet thruster for the cases with the hydrazine or hydrogen as the propellant. The integrated axial Lorentz force in the thruster nozzle is also calculated and compared with the thrust force of the arcjet thruster. It is found that the integrated axial Lorentz force is much smaller than the thrust force for the low-power arcjet thruster. Modeling results for the NASA 1-kW class arcjet thruster with simulated hydrazine as the propellant are found to be reasonably consistent with available experimental data.

Study on sensing properties of tin oxide CO gas sensor with low power consumption

In this paper, the fabrication method of a new type of carbon monoxide gas sensor based on SnOx with low power consumption and its sensing characteristics have been reported. The electric conductance of this type of sensor evolves oscillation form regularly when the sensor is exposed to low level of CO gas. The oscillation amplitude is directly proportional to the concentration of CO gas over a wide range. The effects of relevant factors. such as. humidity, temperature and interference gases on the sensor properties were examined. The sensing oscillation response mechanism was also discussed.

A Low Power Wide Dynamic Range Envelope Detector

We report a 75dB, 2.8mW, 100Hz-10kHz envelope detector in a 1.5mm 2.8V CMOS technology. The envelope detector performs input-dc-insensitive voltage-to-currentconverting rectification followed by novel nanopower current-mode peak detection. The use of a subthreshold wide- linear-range transconductor (WLR OTA) allows greater than 1.7Vpp input voltage swings. We show theoretically that this optimal performance is technology-independent for the given topology and may be improved only by spending more power. A novel circuit topology is used to perform 140nW peak detection with controllable attack and release time constants. The lower limits of envelope detection are determined by the more dominant of two effects: The first effect is caused by the inability of amplified high-frequency signals to exceed the deadzone created by exponential nonlinearities in the rectifier. The second effect is due to an output current caused by thermal noise rectification. We demonstrate good agreement of experimentally measured results with theory. The envelope detector is useful in low power bionic implants for the deaf, hearing aids, and speech-recognition front ends. Extension of the envelope detector to higher- frequency applications is straightforward if power consumption is inc

Performance evaluation of the RPL Protocol in fixed and mobile sinks low-power and lossy networks.

Low-Power and Lossy-Network (LLN) are usually composed of static nodes, but the increase demand for mobility in mobile robotic and dynamic environment raises the question how a routing protocol for low-power and lossy-networks such as (RPL) would perform if a mobile sink is deployed. In this paper we investigate and evaluate the behaviour of the RPL protocol in fixed and mobile sink environments with respect to different network metrics such as latency, packet delivery ratio (PDR) and energy consumption. Extensive simulation using instant Contiki simulator show significant performance differences between fixed and mobile sink environments. Fixed sink LLNs performed better in terms of average power consumption, latency and packet delivery ratio. The results demonstrated also that RPL protocol is sensitive to mobility and it increases the number of isolated nodes.