A very low power CMOS potentiostat for bioimplantable applications

In this paper, we describe a new structure for designing low power potentiostats, which are suitable for electrochemical sensors used in biomedical implants. The low power consumption is a result of using just one operational amplifier in the structure. The structure is also inherently very low noise because it amplifies the output current of the sensor in current mode which can then be converted to the desirable variable; i.e., voltage, frequency, pulse width, etc. Finally we present a new topology for the design of a low power operational amplifier dedicated to driving super capacitive chemical sensors.