Process-Variation-Adaptive Charge Pump Circuit using NEM (Nano-Electro-Mechanical) Relays for Low Power Consumption and High Power Efficiency

Abstract

For some low-frequency applications such as power-related circuits, NEM relays have been known to show better performance than MOSFETs. For example, in a step-down charge pump circuit, the NEM relays showed much smaller layout area and better energy efficiency than MOSFETs. However, severe process variations of NEM relays hinder them from being widely used in various low-frequency applications. To mitigate the process-variation problems of NEM relays, in this paper, a new NEM-relay charge pump circuit with the self-adjustment is proposed. By self-adjusting a pulse amplitude voltage according to process variations, the power consumption can be saved by 4.6%, compared to the conventional scheme without the self-adjustment. This power saving can also be helpful in improving the power efficiency of the proposed scheme. From the circuit simulation of NEM-relay charge pump circuit, the efficiency of the proposed scheme is improved better by 4.1% than the conventional.