Wireless power transmission for biomedical implants: The role of near-zero threshold CMOS rectifiers

Biomedical implants require an electronic power conditioning circuitry to provide a stable electrical power supply. The efficiency of wireless power transmission is strongly dependent on the power conditioning circuitry specifically the rectifier. A cross-connected CMOS bridge rectifier is implemented to demonstrate the impact of thresholds of rectifiers on wireless power transfer. The performance of the proposed rectifier is experimentally compared with a conventional Schottky diode full wave rectifier over 9cm distance of air and tissue medium between the transmitter and receiver. The output voltage generated by the CMOS rectifier across a 1KΩ resistive load is around twice as much as the Schottky rectifier.