Circuit and System Designs of Ultra-Low Power Sensor Nodes With Illustration in a Miniaturized GNSS Logger for Position Tracking: Part I—Analog Circuit Techniques

This paper, split into Parts I and II, reviews recent innovations in circuit design that have accelerated the miniaturization of sensor nodes. Design techniques for key building blocks, such as sensor interfaces, timing reference, data communication, energy harvesting, and power management are reviewed. In particular, Part I introduces analog circuit techniques and sensor interfaces for miniaturized sensor nodes. The energy budget of such system is highly restricted due to the small battery volume. Therefore, ultra-low power design techniques are critical enablers and are reviewed. Design techniques for compact monolithic integration are also discussed.