Architecture of an ultra-low-power fully autonomous universal power conditioner of energy harvester for wireless sensor networks: A review

Abstract

A fully autonomous Universal Power Conditioner (UPC) that can accept energy from any micro-energy harvester (e.g., photovoltaic, thermoelectric, electromagnetic, piezoelectric etc.) is proposed. Generally, UPC removes the need of multiple optimized source specific converters. But, the proposed UPC architecture will be Ultra-Low-Power (ULP) with maximized efficiency to support the low energy levels generated by harvesting sources. This UPC uses a universal source detection block consisting of source converter block, boost converter, storage unit and buck regulation. A voltage threshold block reduces the energy processing stage. A kick-start circuit enables self-starting operation. A power management block achieves efficiency in energy storage and charge cycles. The UPC will be modeled, designed and simulated in PSPICE. A behavioral model will be designed and simulated on Modelsim. The UPC will be realized on FPGA board, validated and analyzed in layout using 0.13 μm CMOS process technology. The expected result is a feasible arbitrary input source detector capable of 2-3 different sources with minimum 1 mW output power for WSN nodes or charging battery sets. The power converters are expected to consume <100 μW at >90% peak efficiency with input dc voltage at 0.02-5 V and output dc voltage from 0.5-5 V.