Ultra-Low-Power ICs for the Internet of Things

Aiello, Orazio

doi:10.3390/jlpea13020038

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Looking closely at the IoT system, it is possible to select the electronic architecture and the operation mode so as to align the power consumption with the power and energy delivered by the energy-harvesting system [2]. The electronic part of the IoT system benefits from low-power integrated circuits whose consumption is ever reduced but at some point requires a certain energy and power budget [3]. The reliability of the system operation is at stake as well as the volume and weight of the solution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Fuel Cell as Battery Range Extender for Frugal IoT

Berlitz,

Pietrelli,

Mieyeville

et al. 2023

Energies

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The simplest DC/DC converter for supplying an Internet-of-Things device is definitely a switched-capacitor converter. The voltage from a mere 1.2 V battery may be stepped up to 2 V. A quite large operating frequency is required in order to reach the smallest possible output impedance value of the DC/DC converter. The overall efficiency is then limited even more so if the power area density of the system should be large. The article details how a microbial fuel cell may substitute one capacitor in the switched-capacitor converter, achieving a better efficiency at a much lower operating frequency. In that perspective, the microbial fuel cell acts as a kind of battery range extender. Some limitations exist that are discussed. A simple converter is experimentally evaluated to support the discussion. Substituting a microbial fuel cell inside a 100 μW switched-capacitor converter compensates for losses in the order of 5% of efficiency. Moreover, the microbial fuel cell extends the lifespan of the battery, as 1.6 V output voltage is still possible when the battery voltage drops to 0.8 V. More than 94% efficiency is measured for a range of output power between 100 μW and 1 mW, which is sufficient to address a lot of frugal IoT applications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%