An Adaptable Interface Circuit With Multistage Energy Extraction for Low-Power Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting MEMS

Abstract

This paper presents a self-powered interface circuit to extract energy from ambient vibrations for powering up microelectronic devices. The circuit interfaces a piezoelectric energy harvesting micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) device to scavenge acoustic energy. Synchronous electric charge extraction (SECE) technique is deployed through the implementation of a novel multistage energy extraction (MSEE) circuit in 180 nm HV CMOS technology to harvest and store energy. The circuit is optimized to operate with minimum power losses when input power is limited, and adapts well to operating conditions with higher input power. The highly accurate peak detector was validated for a wide piezoelectric frequency range from 20 Hz to 4 kHz. A charging efficiency of about 84% has been achieved for 4.75 V open-circuit piezoelectric voltage excited at 390 Hz input vibration under nominal input power range of 30-80 µW. Power optimizations enable the circuit to maintain a conversion efficiency of 47% at input power level as low as 3.12 µW. MSEE provides up to 15% efficiency improvement compared to traditional SECE, and maintains power efficiency as high as possible for a wide input power range. Index Terms-Interface circuit (IC), multistage energy extraction (MSEE), piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH), power efficiency, self powered, vibration.

A Novel Self-Powered Dynamic System Using a Quasi-Z-Source Inverter-Based Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester

“…Equation 13depicts the corresponding logic-based algorithm for generating shoot-through pulses, which will be combined with the respective phases of Vref to form the IGBTs' gate switching pulses: Equation 13depicts the corresponding logic-based algorithm for generating shoot-through pulses, which will be combined with the respective phases of V ref to form the IGBTs' gate switching pulses: Figure 11 projects the qZSI's PWM switching sequences derived from the SBC method. Assuming that the switching period is T sw , the shoot-through period is T Z and non-shoot-through period is T NZ , D Z can be expressed as: (14) in which:…”

“…where M is the modulation index of V carrier , thus correlating with SBC formulations in (14) and (15) due to T Z and T NZ involvement. From equations (19) and 20, it is clear that determining the inductor ratings (L 1 , L 2 ) and capacitor ratings (C 1 , C 2 ) involves the concise formulation of T Z,max , since it also affects the transient response of the qZSI [21][22][23][24][25][26].…”

“…Various research works have been initiated into engineering-suitable power conversion systems that can harvest optimal power generation from PVEH technology [12][13][14][15]. Typically, it involves a centralised isolated or non-isolated DC-DC converter to perform either buck or boost operations before transferring power to the load.…”

Electromechanical Modeling of MEMS-Based Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Devices for Applications in Domestic Washing Machines

“…where g is the Earth's gravity. The shear stress function, V(x), Equation (18), is obtained by integrating the load function, q(x), with respect to x, considering the integration rules of the Macaulay's functions [32]. Next, the bending moment function, M(x), is determined by integrating the shear stress function, V(x), with respect to x:…”

“…These piezoelectric materials can be deposited on cantilever structures. The PEH devices have emerged in recent years due to the possibility of integration with MEMS [16][17][18]. For instance, several researchers have developed MEMS-based PEH devices for different applications [19][20][21][22].…”