Low-Power Sensor Interface with a Switched Inductor Frequency Selective Envelope Detector.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Sensor Technology
• Acoustic Signal Processing

Background:

• The Internet of Things (IoT) requires low-power sensors for continuous monitoring.
• Advancements in sensor manufacturing necessitate efficient interface designs.
• Acoustic sensing is vital for environmental understanding and event detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel switched inductor-based acoustic sensor interface.
• To analyze the sensitivity, frequency selectivity, and power consumption of the interface.
• To compare the prototype's performance against existing interface designs.

Main Methods:

• Design and development of a switched inductor-based acoustic sensor interface with a bandpass filter and envelope detector.
• Experimental characterization of the prototype's sensitivity, frequency selectivity, and power consumption.
• Comparative analysis using a prerecorded speedboat signal against an active filter and passive voltage doubler interface.

Main Results:

• The prototype achieved a sensitivity of approximately 2 mV/mV in the passband and significantly lower sensitivity in the stopband.
• Power consumption was measured at approximately 3.31 µW, demonstrating low-power operation.
• The novel interface showed comparable or improved performance against the traditional interface.

Conclusions:

• The developed switched inductor acoustic sensor interface is a viable low-power solution for IoT applications.
• The circuit design parameters effectively influence its performance characteristics.
• This technology enables efficient acoustic event detection for enhanced environmental monitoring.