Nanomechanical Self-Timed Power Management Circuit for Low-Power IoT Devices
Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) applications often see harsh environmental conditions such as high temperatures and radiation levels, which reduce the efficiency of CMOS power converters. This paper presents a nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relay-based power management unit that can operate in such conditions with zero standby power. The proposed circuit is selftimed and does not need a clock or an external synchronization signal, and minimises switching activity to mitigate against the limited lifetime of NEM relays. Simulation results show that the proposed circuit can maintain a stable voltage of 5.7 V DC when supplying a$20 \mu \mathrm{A}$load, with 33% power conversion efficiency. This proof of concept demonstrates the potential of nanomechanical circuits for power management in low-power harsh environment IoT applications where Si transistors struggle to operate.
Institution: University of Bristol
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7130568030