Long-Range, mm-Scale Wireless Optical Power Delivery Using Nanophotonic Antennas and Integrated Power Management

使用纳米光子天线和集成电源管理进行远距离、毫米级无线光功率传输

• 批准号: 1711077
• 负责人: Jason Stauth
• 金额: $ 41万
• 依托单位: Dartmouth College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-08-01 至 2021-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1711077&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Long; Range; mm; Scale; Wireless

The need for wireless power delivery has grown in recent decades, driven by exponential (Moore's law) semiconductor scaling, the pervasiveness of portable computing and communications devices, and other applications including biomedical devices, transportation and aerospace. This project will explore delivering power to small (mm-scale) silicon integrated circuits via a free-space optical (near-IR laser) power source. The goal of the project is to study and demonstrate the feasibility of long-range optical power delivery in a silicon platform through an interdisciplinary effort on semiconductor optics/photonics and low power integrated circuit design. This project will focus primarily on the optical receiver technology including the design and fabrication of nanophotonic antennas to concentrate energy into small silicon-based photovoltaic cells that are implemented in a low-cost standard process flow. The circuits portion of the project will explore methods to extract maximum energy from the optical elements and provide a seamless interface between on-chip dielectric energy storage and a low-voltage embedded circuit load. This project will support educational opportunities in the undergraduate and graduate curriculum at Dartmouth, as well as an expansion of ongoing K-12 outreach programs and communication with the general public. An example of this is the Dartmouth-organized 'Design-it, Build-it' summer bootcamp for high school juniors and seniors that attracts students from around the country and encourages students with underrepresented backgrounds to attend through the provision of scholarship support.This project will explore several promising technical directions related to mm-scale optical power delivery. A first direction is the design and implementation of near-IR (~850 nm) nanophotonic antenna structures, which can concentrate optical power to small photodiodes (PDs) operated in photovoltaic (PV) mode. These have the advantage of concentrating optical energy into very small optically-active structures, which can improve quantum efficiency and reduce active area needed for optoelectronics, thereby decreasing overall size. Second, we will explore integration strategies in SOI or triple-well CMOS where multiple photodiodes can be dynamically reconfigured in parallel and series stacks. This will help alleviate stress on the power circuitry, enable much higher system efficiency, and benefit from recent developments in power management for photovoltaic (PV) systems. Third, we plan to develop a novel power management approach based on high-density switched capacitor (SC) converters that can provide efficient regulation and power-point tracking with a monolithic implementation while interfacing between high-voltage dielectric storage and a low-voltage embedded system load. The proposed SC architecture builds on past work by the PIs in chip-scale power conversion, architectures that can to mitigate systemic energy loss mechanisms in photovoltaic arrays, and new directions in high-order interleaving and bottom plate recycling that can improve efficiency and power-density.

在指数（摩尔定律）半导体缩放、便携式计算和通信设备的普及以及包括生物医学设备、运输和航空航天的其他应用的驱动下，对无线功率输送的需求在近几十年来已经增长。该项目将探索通过自由空间光学（近红外激光）电源向小型（毫米级）硅集成电路提供功率。该项目的目标是通过半导体光学/光子学和低功耗集成电路设计的跨学科努力，研究和证明在硅平台上实现远程光功率传输的可行性。该项目将主要关注光接收器技术，包括纳米光子天线的设计和制造，以将能量集中到以低成本标准工艺流程实施的小型硅基光伏电池中。该项目的电路部分将探索从光学元件中提取最大能量的方法，并在片上电介质储能和低压嵌入式电路负载之间提供无缝接口。该项目将支持达特茅斯大学本科和研究生课程的教育机会，以及正在进行的K-12外展计划的扩展和与公众的沟通。例如，达特茅斯学院为高中三年级和四年级学生组织的“设计，建造”夏令营，吸引了来自全国各地的学生，并通过提供奖学金支持鼓励那些背景不足的学生参加。该项目将探索与毫米级光功率传输相关的几个有前途的技术方向。第一个方向是近红外（~850 nm）纳米光子天线结构的设计和实现，其可以将光功率集中到以光伏（PV）模式操作的小光电二极管（PD）。这些具有将光能集中到非常小的光学活性结构中的优点，这可以提高量子效率并减少光电子器件所需的活性面积，从而减小整体尺寸。其次，我们将探讨在SOI或三阱CMOS集成策略，其中多个光电二极管可以动态地重新配置在并联和串联堆栈。这将有助于减轻电源电路的压力，实现更高的系统效率，并受益于光伏（PV）系统电源管理的最新发展。第三，我们计划开发一种新的电源管理方法的基础上，高密度开关电容器（SC）转换器，可以提供高效的调节和功率点跟踪与单片实现，而高压电介质存储和低压嵌入式系统负载之间的接口。所提出的SC架构建立在PI在芯片级功率转换中的过去工作的基础上，该架构可以减轻光伏阵列中的系统能量损失机制，以及可以提高效率和功率密度的高阶交织和底板回收的新方向。

项目成果

An Optically Powered, High-Voltage, Switched- Capacitor Drive Circuit for Microrobotics

用于微型机器人的光供电高压开关电容器驱动电路

• DOI: 10.1109/jssc.2020.3032076
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits
• 影响因子: 5.4
• 作者: Li, Yanqiao;Dobbins, Benjamin L.;Stauth, Jason T.
• 通讯作者: Stauth, Jason T.

Natural Balancing of Flying Capacitor Multilevel Converters at Nominal Conversion Ratios

飞电容多电平转换器在标称转换比下的自然平衡

• DOI: 10.1109/compel.2019.8769724
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: 2019 20th Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL
• 作者: Xia, Ziyu;Dobbins, Benjamin L.;Stauth, Jason T.
• 通讯作者: Stauth, Jason T.

A 120-330V, sub-μA, 4-Channel Driver for Microrobotic Actuators with Wireless-Optical Power Delivery and over 99% Current Efficiency

A%20120-330V、%20sub-μA、%204 通道%20Driver%20for%20Microrobototic%20Actuators%20with%20Wireless-Optical%20Power%20Delivery%20and%20over%2099%%20Current%20Efficiency

• DOI: 10.1109/vlsicircuits18222.2020.9162908
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: IEEE Symposium on VLSI Circuits (VLSI
• 作者: Rentmeister, J. S.;Pister, K.;Stauth, J. T.
• 通讯作者: Stauth, J. T.

A 120-330V, sub-µA, optically powered microrobotic drive IC for DARPA SHRIMP

适用于 DARPA SHRIMP 的 120-330V、亚 µA、光供电微型机器人驱动 IC

• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: GOMACTech 2020
• 作者: Rentmeister, J.S;Pister, K.;Stauth, J. T.
• 通讯作者: Stauth, J. T.