A Four-Quadrant Switched Capacitor DC-DC Convertor Enabling Power-Efficient Lab-Grade Potentiostats

This paper presents a low-power potentiostat based on a four-quadrant switched capacitor DC-DC convertor for use in lab applications. The gearbox convertor achieves a compliance voltage of ±2.5V. Through the use of frequency scaling, the convertor features output currents in the range of 1μA to 1mA, outclassing other state-of-the-art power efficient potentiostats. A hysteretic control loop and a seperate hysteretic comparator allow the potentiostat to be used for both voltammetric and ampere-metric experiments. Simulations demonstrate a peak efficiency of 87%, and a competitive overall efficiency. The system is designed and simulated in a 0.35μm process.