Siwa: A custom RISC-V based system on chip (SOC) for low power medical applications

Abstract

This work introduces the development of Siwa, a RISC-V RV32I 32-bit based core, intended as a flexible control platform for highly integrated implantable biomedical applications, and implemented on a commercial 0.18 μm high voltage (HV) CMOS technology. Simulations show that Siwa can outperform commercial micro-controllers commonly used in the medical industry as control units for implantable devices, with energy requirements below the 50 pJ per clock cycle.