A flexible resistive Read-Out Circuit suitable to multi-purpose ZnO nanostructured transducers for robotic applications

This paper presents a compact, event-driven, low power and all-digital integrated Read-Out Circuit (ROC) for robotic applications, simulated on a 130 nm CMOS prototype. The ROC can interface both resistive and capacitive transducers and has an 8 bit digital output providing the variation of the sensor resistance w.r.t. a calibration value. Its small active area (428 × 159 µm²) and low power consumption (33.3 µW at 1.2 V VDD) make the ROC suitable to be replicated in a dense array of nanostructured sensors. The measurable resistance can be adjusted in a wide range to account for nanomaterials process variation, both using dedicated digital control switches and also lowering the system supply voltage.