Design and Optimization of Ultrasonic Wireless Power Transmission Links for Millimeter-Sized Biomedical Implants

Ultrasound has been recently proposed as an alternative modality for efficient wireless power transmission (WPT) to biomedical implants with millimeter (mm) dimensions. This paper presents the theory and design methodology of ultrasonic WPT links that involve mm-sized receivers (Rx). For given load (R
_L
) and powering distance (d), the optimal geometries of transmitter (Tx) and Rx ultrasonic transducers, including their diameter and thickness, as well as the optimal operation frequency (f
_c
) are found through a recursive design procedure to maximize the power transmission efficiency (PTE). First, a range of realistic f
_c
s is found based on the Rx thickness constrain. For a chosen f
_c
within the range, the diameter and thickness of the Rx transducer are then swept together to maximize PTE. Then, the diameter and thickness of the Tx transducer are optimized to maximize PTE. Finally, this procedure is repeated for different f
_c
s to find the optimal fc and its corresponding transducer geometries that maximize PTE. A design example of ultrasonic link has been presented and optimized for WPT to a 1 mm
³
implant, including a disk-shaped piezoelectric transducer on a silicon die. In simulations, a PTE of 2.11% at fc of 1.8 MHz was achieved for RL of 2.5 kΩ at d = 3 cm. In order to validate our simulations, an ultrasonic link was optimized for a 1 mm3 piezoelectric transducer mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB), which led to simulated and measured PTEs of 0.65% and 0.66% at f
_c
of 1.1 MHz for RL of 2.5 kΩ at d = 3 cm, respectively.