RF-front end for wireless powered neural applications

This paper presents a 2.4 GHz RF front end for use in a wireless powered micro neural interface systems. The front end consists of a matching network and a two stage rectifier. A programmable current source is included for circuit validation. There is a great and growing need for wirelessly powering biological implants. Specifically, we are addressing a need for neural sensors and stimulators were total power dissipation must be less than 1 mW for safety reasons. Subthreshold CMOS analog circuits operate successfully over a large range of supply voltages. A wide range of output voltages from -250 mV up to 2.4V are observed when varying the load current at a fixed input power and vice versa. The total chip area including bond pads is 0.730 mm².The designs were fabricated using peregrine 0.5 micron silicon on sapphire process.