Power-Efficient Oscillator-Based Readout Circuit for Multichannel Resonant Volatile Sensors

This work presents a multichannel electronic nose system that enables a range of novel applications owing to high sensitivity, low form factor and low power consumption. Each channel is based on a combination of doubly-clamped piezoelectric MEMS resonators and CMOS oscillator-based readout designed in TSMC 0.25 μm technology. Using “application specific” polymer coatings, the individual resonators can be tuned to detect mixtures of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This system achieves ppm-level theoretical limit of detection for ethanol which paves the way towards a broad range of applications such as personalized health and environment air quality.