A Fully Integrated Power Converter for Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting With 81% Peak Efficiency and 6.4-mV Minimum Input Voltage
Jingcheng Tao, Wei Mao, Zhihong Luo, Lei Zeng, Chun-Huat Heng
Abstract
This letter introduces a fully integrated inductive power converter for thermal energy harvesting using the thermoelectric generator (TEG). With a three-step self-start block, the power converter can cold-start from 83 mV. After self-start, the minimum input voltage to sustain the power converter operation is only 6.4 mV. An integrated maximum power point tracking block keeps impedance matching at the TEG output. A novel low-power zero-current switching block realizes accurate switching with little overhead. The proposed power converter is implemented in a 55-nm CMOS process and achieves 81% peak end-to-end efficiency.
Topics & Concepts
Energy harvestingVoltageElectrical engineeringPower (physics)Thermoelectric generatorThermoelectric effectEnergy (signal processing)Maximum power principleBoost converterElectronic engineeringMaterials scienceControl theory (sociology)Computer scienceEngineeringPhysicsThermodynamicsQuantum mechanicsControl (management)Artificial intelligenceInnovative Energy Harvesting TechnologiesEnergy Harvesting in Wireless NetworksAdvanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices