Ultra-low power readout electronics for wireless gas sensors in IoT

One of the major threads for today's society is the increasing pollution in the environment of hazardous gases and compounds. For this reason, gas sensors have become an important subject of research in the present with notably progress in low power photo-activated sensors. In order to advance in power efficient gas sensor devices, we present a low power analog-to-digital interface based on two ASICs designed in 180 nm technology. These ASICs are remarkably efficient, drawing only 70 μW of power. They are capable of driving and measuring a light-activated resistance-based gas sensor at once per second, all while transmitting the data gathered via a Bluetooth transceiver. Thanks to its low power features, the system can be powered by an energy harvester, enabling the device to operate autonomously and sustainably.