Combined power and data connection over a single pair of wires

Various circuits such as remote sensors, medical devices and implants require a high throughput data connection and power delivery through the same cable connection. However, users of such devices desire a reduction in the weight and size of the cable which means reducing the number of wires. Therefore it is interesting to develop ways to deliver both power and data through the same wires.

Currently there are multiple strategies that can deliver power and data over the same cable such as power over Ethernet, power over coaxial etc. However, they all use additional hardware that would be impractically big next to the size of a typical implanted chip.

The goal of this project is to explore possible strategies and technologies that allow an integrated circuit to be powered and communicate to the external world through the same set of wires, without bulky, external components.

We start by exploring current technologies and state of the art designs in the field of power and data transmission and understand the requirements and limitations they have. From here, we can  propose solutions to implement power and data transmission over a single pair of wires directly connected to a chip and use no external components. The proposals will be validated through models, simulations and implementation with off the shelf components.