A monolithic micropower command receiver

The use of battery-operated chronically implanted telemetry systems in biomedical instrumentation is growing rapidly. In many cases the flexibility and operating lifetime of these systems is severely limited by the capacity of the power source. Describes the theory of operation, design, fabrication, technology and performance of a micropower command receiver that can extend the operating lifetime of an implanted telemetry system to the shelf life of its battery by disconnecting the power source when the system is not in use. The command receiver consists of an RF amplifier, and AM detector, and an audio amplifier. It has a sensitivity of better than 100 /spl mu/V and a total power dissipation of less than 15 /spl mu/W. It operates from a single 1.35-V mercury cell and is fabricated entirely on a single silicon chip. The only necessary off-the-chip components are the antenna and the battery.