Semiconductor device for sensor system
AssigneeHitachi, Ltd.
InventorsShunzo Yamashita, Kei Suzuki, Toshiyuki Aritsuka, Masayuki Miyazaki, Sadaki Nakano
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Abstract
A semiconductor device is employable for a compact and light-weight sensor system that is free of the need for battery replacement. The semiconductor device has a sensor chip (SCHIP1) comprising sensors (TD1, AS1, PD1, GS1), an A/D conversion circuit (AD1), a microprocessor (CPU1), a memory (MEM1), a transmission circuit (RF1), and a power generation circuit (CM1). The sensors, the A/D conversion circuit, the microprocessor, the memory, and the transmission circuit are formed on one side (SIDE1) of a substrate, while the power generation unit is formed on the other side (SIDE2) of the substrate.
Claims17
A semiconductor device, comprising:
- a sensor for detecting a physical quantity of an object to be measured;
- an A/D conversion circuit for amplifying a signal detected by said sensor and for converting the amplified signal to a digital signal;
- a microprocessor for processing said digital signal;
- a memory for storing information based on said digital signal;
- a transmission circuit for transmitting said digital signal processed by said microprocessor to the outside;
- and
- a power generator for generating electric power to be supplied to said sensor, said A/D conversion circuit, said microprocessor, said memory, and said transmission circuit, respectively,
- wherein said semiconductor device further includes a power supply control circuit and a capacitor;
- wherein said power supply control circuit is configured so as to control whether to supply electric power generated by said power generator to said sensor, said A/D converter, said microprocessor, said memory, and said transmission circuit;
- and
- wherein said capacitor is configured so as to accumulate said electric power generated by said power generation unit.
A semiconductor device, comprising:
- a sensor chip that includes a temperature sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a red/infrared ray sensor;
- an A/D conversion circuit for amplifying a signal received from said sensor chip and for converting said signal to a digital value;
- a microprocessor for taking out information from said sensor chip to process said information;
- a memory for storing a program code of said microprocessor and said information received from said sensor chip;
- a transmission circuit controlled by said microprocessor and used to transmit data to the outside;
- a power supply control circuit for controlling whether to supply electric power to said sensor unit, said A/D conversion circuit, said microprocessor, said memory, and said transmission circuit, respectively;
- and
- a power collection circuit for collecting an increase of electrostatic energy of a variable capacitor generated by mechanical vibration to convert said increase to electrical energy,
- wherein said sensor chip, said A/D conversion circuit, said microprocessor, said memory, said transmission/receiving circuit, and said power supply control circuit are formed on one side of a semiconductor substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.