Photovoltaic-Generated Nanoampere Current Source Designed on Silicon LSIs

In this study, we demonstrates a self-powered self-generated nanoampere current source using a semi-open-circuit photovoltaic cell. This cell was designed by connecting a large resistance to a photovoltaic cell that enabled the output of a very small current. By changing load resistances, the output current can be linearly modified. We have conducted the numerical simulations to validate the concept and discussed effects of load resistance, cell area and light source to output current. Our experiment demonstrated that a sufficiently stable current output can be obtained using different light sources, and inversely linear relationship between the output current and the load resistance was obtained. We anticipate that sufficient photocurrent would be required to stabilize the output current.