A Low Power CMOS Voltage Regulator for a Wireless Blood Pressure Biosensor

This paper describes a CMOS implementation of a linear voltage regulator (LVR) used to power up implanted physiological signal systems, as it is the case of a wireless blood pressure biosensor. The topology is based on a classical structure of a linear low-dropout regulator. The circuit is powered up from an RF link, thus characterizing a passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. The LVR was designed to meet important features such as low power consumption and small silicon area, without the need for any external discrete components. The low power operation represents an essential condition to avoid a high-energy RF link, thus minimizing the transmitted power and therefore minimizing the thermal effects on the patient's tissues. The project was implemented in a 0.35-μm CMOS process, and the prototypes were tested to validate the overall performance. The LVR output is regulated at 1 V and supplies a maximum load current of 0.5 mA at 37°C. The load regulation is 13 mV/mA, and the line regulation is 39 mV/V. The LVR total power consumption is 1.2 mW.