Micropower supply for sensors

Miniature, remote, autonomous sensors generally have a relatively large power supply compared to the size of the sensor and sensor conditioning electronic circuitry. An integrated micropower supply made in a silicon wafer offers the prospect of shrinking the power supply size down to the size of the sensor and conditioning circuitry. In this paper we describe a micropower supply comprising a nickel-zinc microbattery integrated in a silicon wafer interfaced to a miniature silicon solar array via an adaptable charge controller that can optimally supply charging current from the miniature solar array to the microbattery.