Micro and nano transducers for autonomous sensing applications

With the advent of Wireless Sensor Networks and the Internet of Things, the need for energy efficient components has increased significantly. Sensors consume sometimes a significant part of the energy budget of an autonomous system, while it is not always clear how to make them more efficient. Here we attempt to identify strategies for lowering power consumption in transducers. The discussion is constructed around a formula that relates the power consumption to the other relevant parameters for sensing such as noise, sensitivity, and conversion rate.