A 15.4V Fully-Integrated Energy-Efficient Pulse Generator in Standard 0.18μm CMOS

This brief presents the design and implementation of an energy efficient high-voltage (HV) pulse generator for MEMS capacitive sensors and actuators. The core circuit of the proposed HV pulse generator consists of four dual-mode switched-capacitor voltage doublers (D-SCVDs). Dynamic output impedance (DOI) method is proposed and implemented to improve energy efficiency during the rising edge generation. Load energy recycling (LER) method is also used during the falling edge generation to reduce the overall energy consumption. The proposed circuit achieves an end-to-end energy efficiency of 43.5% with 250 kHz driven frequency under 550 pF capacitive load and 3.3V supply. The maximum pulsing voltage achieves 15.4V and standby power is measured as 9.8 nW. The proposed design is implemented in SMIC standard 0.18 mu m CMOS process occupying a core area of 700 mu m by 800 mu m.

Automated summary

This paper presents the design and implementation of an energy efficient high-voltage pulse generator for MEMS capacitive sensors and actuators. By employing methods such as dynamic output impedance and load energy recycling, the circuit achieves a relatively high end-to-end energy efficiency.