ASIC Project Description
Nowadays, the internet availability between the people favoured the emergence of myriad linked smart devices with a connecting interface capable of recognizing, enhance, and share information without or less human interventions. This needful universal bond of people, objects and Internet of Things has become the headword for the modern wireless communication era. Therefore, Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) devices, has a key role for pervasive computing areas, incorporated diversified applications, such as smart buildings, biomedical, monitoring physiological parameters and environment sensing. The microelectronic technology progress allowed integration of more functionalities within a small device and flourished other technologies, such as batteries.
By the increasing demand of portable electronics, the batteries are a component indispensable in our daily life. However, this electrical component is not environmentally friendly. Each year, consumers disposal billions of batteries which becomes hazardous waste and a threat to health and the environment. One of the main goals of the Sensovann AS is developing R&D projects which at the same time helps the people and creates no impact to the environment.
In WSN applications, batteries constitute a bottleneck to electronic demands and monetary nightmares. To power-up microscale devices, the storage capacity of the batteries is limited due to its reduced size, which restricts the device lifetime as well as the contribution to higher maintenance costs to replace those components.
Sensovann AS is looking forward to creating a green impact, using the upcoming energy harvesting technology to be used as the main operational source to power-up electronic devices. With this technology, the problems related to the battery technology are surpassed, and consequently extend the WSN lifetime effectively. Therefore, the goal within this R&D project is to develop an energy harvesting interface system to power-up front-end application without or less battery intervention.
The realisation of miniaturized piezoelectric transducers leveraging on MicroElectroMechanical-Systems (MEMS) technology is the way to go to drive the requirements of WSN applications towards the need for low-power portable electronics with external power supply. However, problems related to the characteristics of environmental sources needs to be surpassed. In real-world applications, mechanical forces, which are responsible to excites the piezoelectric crystals and convert it to electric charges, are unpredictable and inconstant. The output signal characteristics (AC power) are not appropriate to power directly electronic devices. Last but not the least, since the output power harvested from the MEMS piezoelectric transducer by itself is very low, it is a crucial to realize a matching circuit to permit maximum transferred energy to be stores and realised to the application.
To overcome all these disadvantages which are a barrier to build a reliable energy harvesting system. Sensovann AS is putting its efforts to develop an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) power management circuit application to be capable of extracting power from any environmental conditions, regulating, storing and relocation whenever the application demands. Due to the application specific custom nature of the ASICs, it is possible to pack more functionalities at the same time being small in size, lew power consumption and less heat dissipation when compared to standard IC solution.
Sensovann AS has scientific knowledge about ASIC applications, since the development of the idea, design of the schematic, its optimization till the development of physical layout, which covers all the necessary steps to perform a reliable ASIC project. Also, the company has a wide business knowledge for meeting the project requirements till the final product.
