Zero quiescent power VLF mechanical communication receiver

Abstract

A first-in-kind all-mechanical communication receiver front-end employing resonant micromechanical switch (i.e., resoswitch) technology has detected and demodulated frequency shift keyed (FSK) signals as low as −60dBm at a VLF frequency of 20kHz suitable for extremely long-range communications, all while consuming zero quiescent power when in standby. The key to attaining high quality signal reception and demodulation with zero quiescent power consumption derives from the use of heavily nonlinear amplification, provided by mechanical impact switching of the resoswitch. This approach would be inconceivable in a conventional receiver due to performance degradation caused by nonlinearity, but becomes plausible here by virtue of the RF channel-selection provided by the resonant behavior of the mechanical circuit.