Pico-X: 24.9-nW State-Retention Light Weight MCU for Year-Scale Autonomous Operation in Flexible Landing-Pad Sensor Networks

The flexible landing-pad arrays in low-altitude infrastructure are embodied by ordinary items, which desirably include sensors, actuators, displays and electronic interface devices in combination with silicon-based digital signal processing and communication technologies. However, autonomous operation in the flexible landing-pad sensor networks is partly hampered due to a lack of ultra-low power level MCU system, which should be responsible for intense communication and precise control among the embodied ordinary items in the landing-pad, as well as communications among the hundreds to thousands pads in the array. At the same time, the battery recharging time is expected to be year-scale. Here, we report Pico-X, ultra-low-power specific-designed processor, which is targeted as a local computer core for flexible sensor arrays on vertiport and landing-pad surfaces. Pico-X adopts specific event-driven operation model of local sampling and decision with exception-only reporting, combined with a power-management strategy employing light forward body bias (FBB) during active operation and zero body bias (ZBB) in sleep mode. The chip is implemented based on 28-nm FDSOI technology. Measurement results demonstrate a minimum power consumption of 24.9 nW at 25 kHz, @VDD = 0.4 V, while maintaining a compact 6.1-k-gate footprint. Pico-X thus provides a programmable and scalable nanowatt-class edge intelligence platform for flexible landing-pad arrays in low-altitude infrastructure.