A low-power implantable Pseudo-BJT-based silicon retina with solar cells for artificial retinal prostheses

A low-power implantable Pseudo-BJT-based silicon retina with solar cells has been designed, analyzed, and fabricated for artificial retinal prostheses. The proposed circuit with solar cells as on-chip power supply aims to replace the outer-plexiform layer of the vertebrate retina. HSPICE simulation shows edge extracted function of both 1-dimension and 2-dimension. The dynamic feature of the proposed silicon retina is also shown in simulation results. The proposed circuit could successfully generate both voltage and current output, which is especially important for implants due to voltage mode and current mode of retina prostheses. These simulated results of the proposed low-power implantable silicon retina successfully confirm the functions of solar cell and edge extracted functions for the biological model.