Designing robust ultra-low power circuits

Ubiquitous sensing systems, with a single node or thousands of nodes, are quickly becoming a viable technology option with the advancement of circuit and sensor design. In such a system, the most basic building block is an inexpensive sensor node with data processing and storage, off-chip communication, sensing elements, and a power source all linked within a robust package ideally with a volume on the order of lmm´. The sensor node must have a lifetime on the order of months or years. Due to the limitations of power sources, the most pressing implication of this lifetime requirement is that the power consumption of all components must be minimized.