Self-powered timer apparatus
AssigneeBoard of Trustees of Michigan State University
InventorShantanu Chakrabartty
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method is provided for implementing a timer using a floating-gate transistor. The method includes: injecting a charge into a floating-gate transistor at an initial time, where a gate terminal of the floating-gate transistor is comprised of polysilicon encased by an insulating material; creating lattice imperfections at boundary of the polysilicon to cause leakage from the floating-gate transistor; measuring current read out from the floating-gate transistor at a time subsequent to the initial time; and determining an amount of time between the initial time and the subsequent time using the measured current.
Claims16
A method for implementing a timer using a floating-gate transistor, comprising:
- injecting a charge into a floating-gate transistor at an initial time, where a gate terminal of the floating-gate transistor is comprised of polysilicon encased by an insulating material;
- creating lattice imperfections at boundary of the polysilicon to cause leakage from the floating-gate transistor;
- measuring current read out from the floating-gate transistor at a time subsequent to the initial time;
- and
- determining an amount of time between the initial time and the subsequent time using the measured current.
A method for implementing a timer using a floating-gate transistor, comprising:
- injecting a charge into a first floating-gate transistor and a reference floating-gate transistor during initialization, where each of the floating-gate transistors is comprised of polysilicon encased by an insulating material and the first floating-gate transistor having lattice imperfections at boundary of the polysilicon;
- reading out a reference current read out from the reference floating-gate transistor at a time subsequent to the initialization;
- estimating a thermal voltage for the first floating-gate transistor using the reference current;
- reading out current from the first floating-gate transistor concurrently with the reading out of the reference current;
- and
- compensating the current read out from the first floating-gate transistor using the estimated thermal voltage.
A timer for use in a self-powered sensor, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a timer floating-gate transistor formed on the substrate, the first floating-gate transistor having a gate terminal comprised of polysilicon encased by an insulating material and one or more metal vias electrically coupled to the polysilicon;
- and
- a reference floating-gate transistor formed on the substrate and disposed adjacent to the first floating-gate transistor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.