CMOS-MEMS resonant demodulator for near-zero-power RF wake-up receiver

We demonstrate a CMOS-MEMS resonant demodulator for use in a nanoWatt-power RF wake-up sensor. "Near-zero" power operation is enabled through voltage step-up and frequency keying in passive MEMS elements. The integrated MEMS demodulator minimizes parasitic capacitance to maximize gain and performs high-Q filtering to prevent false triggering due to interference signal feedthrough. High-frequency testing of a demodulator with a minimum transduction gap size of 400 nm agrees with device models.