A very low-power CMOS mixed-signal IC for implantable pacemaker applications

Low power consumption is crucial for medical implant devices. A single-chip, very-low-power interface IC used in implantable pacemaker systems is presented. It contains amplifiers, filters, ADCs, battery management system, voltage multipliers, high voltage pulse generators, programmable logic and timing control. A few circuit techniques are proposed to achieve nanopower circuit operations within submicron CMOS process. Subthreshold transistor designs and switched-capacitor circuits are widely used. The 200 k transistor IC occupies 49 mm², is fabricated in a 0.5-μm two-poly three-metal multi-V_t process, and consumes 8 μW.