A truly low-cost high-efficiency ASK demodulator based on self-sampling scheme for bioimplantable applications

In the fields of wireless bioelectronics implants and sensor network systems, amplitude shift keying (ASK) is one of the most commonly used schemes employed to modulate the baseband signal with reference to the intermediate or even the carrier frequency. In this study, a demodulator architecture capable of dealing with most of the previous limitations in an ASK-utilized medical implant, especially in want of being powered through wireless delivering, is proposed. It features the abilities of working on a very small modulation index and being provided without any R/C component(s) inside by means of a self-sampling scheme. The design has been implemented in an 18-μm CMOS process. The demodulator circuit occupies a die size of merely 32.3 × 14.5μm². Analytic results from both simulated gradation and fabricated chips show that the proposed circuit can operate at a carrier of 2 MHz and achieve a modulation rate of up to 50%. The results also demonstrate that the presented work can still perform a proper demodulation even with a modulation index beneath 5.5%. An average power of approximately 336 μW was confirmed in return for the remarkable advantages. All aspects regarding the design, including a review of the prior arts, system consideration, circuit description, and analyses from simulation phase to actual measurement, are presented in detail.