Paper Info
Title
A DC-DC Step-Up μ-Power Converter for Energy Harvesting Applications, Using Maximum Power Point Tracking, Based on Fractional Open Circuit Voltage
Abstract
A DC-DC step-up micro power converter for solar energy harvesting applications is presented. The circuit is based on a switched-capacitor voltage tripler architecture with MOSFET capacitors, which results in an, area approximately eight times smaller than using MiM capacitors for the 0.131 mu m CMOS technology. In order to compensate for the loss of efficiency, due to the larger parasitic capacitances, a charge reutilization scheme is employed. The circuit is self-clocked, using a phase controller designed specifically to work with an amorphous silicon solar cell, in order to obtain the maximum available power from the cell. This will be done by tracking its maximum power point (MPPT) using the fractional open circuit voltage method. Electrical simulations of the circuit, together with an equivalent electrical model of an amorphous silicon solar cell, show that the circuit can deliver a power of 1132 mu W to the load, corresponding to a maximum efficiency of 66.81%.
Year
DOI
Venue
2011
10.1007/978-3-642-19170-1_56
IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology
Keywords
Field
DocType
Electronics,CMOS circuits,Energy Harvesting,Power management circuits,Maximum Power Point Tracking,Amorphous Silicon Solar Cell
Capacitor,Voltage,Maximum power point tracking,CMOS,Electronic engineering,Control engineering,Solar cell,Engineering,Maximum power principle,MOSFET,Buck converter,Electrical engineering
Conference
Volume
ISSN
Citations 
349
1868-4238
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
4
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Carlos Carvalho1207.41
Guilherme Lavareda210.73
Nuno Paulino3286.24