Current Mirror Improved Potentiostat (CMIPot) for a Three Electrode Electrochemical Cell.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Electrochemistry
• Integrated Circuit Design

Background:

• Electrochemical sensors require precise voltage control and current measurement.
• Existing potentiostat circuits can be bulky or lack integration capabilities.
• CMOS technology offers miniaturization and potential for low-power electrochemical interfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and validate a novel compact CMOS potentiostat circuit.
• To serve as an integrated interface for electrochemical cells.
• To enable precise control of voltage polarization and current measurement.

Main Methods:

• A novel potentiostat topology was designed using CMOS technology.
• The circuit includes a two-stage amplifier, current mirrors, and a push-pull output stage.
• Cyclic voltammetry was employed with voltage sweeps of ±0.8 V and scan rates up to 250 mV/s.

Main Results:

• The circuit successfully controlled voltage polarization and measured currents from 10 µA to 500 µA.
• Voltammograms of potassium ferrocyanide solutions (10-20 mmol/L) were accurately obtained.
• Experimental results from a discrete prototype matched classical potentiostat performance.

Conclusions:

• The proposed compact CMOS potentiostat is a viable solution for electrochemical sensing.
• The design demonstrates effective performance comparable to established methods.
• This integrated circuit offers potential for miniaturized and efficient electrochemical instrumentation.