Performance Evaluation of Ultra-Low Power ADCs in Energy Harvesting Systems

Quality healthcare has become more relevant than ever before in the history of humanity. There is an ardent need to develop affordable remedies in the healthcare sector. The contemporary market landscape insists that all upcoming designs are low power and portative. This necessity peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic. In any biological data acquisition/monitoring system, the signals are continuous. These analog signals are usually amplified, filtered and converted into digital codes for ease of further processing. Thus making an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) an integral part of every bio-medical data acquisition system. Successive Approximation Register (SAR) ADCs have many potential biomedical applications due to their ability to accurately convert analog signals into digital form. SAR ADCs used in biomedical applications include Electroencephalography (EEG), Electromyography (EMG), Electrocardiography (ECG), Blood glucose monitoring, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). These versatile ADCs are essential components in advancing healthcare technology facilitating accurate diagnosis and treatment. The proposed ADC consumes low power and, hence, is suitable for mobile healthcare devices.