Design and Performance of an Ultra-Low Power Wake-Up Timer for N-FET Based FlexIC Technologies

Flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs) are gaining traction in applications requiring minimal power consumption, such as remote sensors and wearables. This work presents an ultra-low power wake-up timer (WUT) designed using Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistors, exclusively employing n-type transistors. The proposed circuit operates in the <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$0.1-0.8 ~\text{Hz}$</tex> frequency range with a power consumption as low as <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$26.8-170 \text{nW}$</tex>. This design achieves unprecedented efficiency within FlexICs, approaching Si-CMOS power levels, and is optimized for integration with sustainable electronic platforms. The design is tested under various environmental conditions, and its performance is evaluated based on experimental measurements.