Dual-Source Energy-Harvesting Interface With Cycle-by-Cycle Source Tracking and Adaptive Peak-Inductor-Current Control

In this paper, we present a single-inductor triple-input–triple-output (SITITO) buck–boost converter in a 0.18- $\mu \text{m}$ CMOS process for dual-source energy harvesting. The converter operates in the single-source mode, dual-source mode (DSM), and backup mode automatically by detecting the input and output conditions. Converter operation in the proposed DSM enables extraction of power from both a photovoltaic cell and a thermoelectric generator in one switching cycle for efficient power extraction. The cycle-by-cycle source-tracking approach selects the appropriate input source according to the maximum power point of the energy transducers. The adaptive on-time circuit with the proposed adaptive peak-inductor-current (APIC) control adjusts the on-time of power transistors to obtain high conversion efficiency under different input voltages. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed SITITO converter has a peak efficiency of 84.4%. When compared with the conventional constant peak-inductor-current control, an efficiency improvement of 11% is obtained via the proposed APIC control.

[1]  Kazunori Watanabe,et al.  A 0.45-V input on-chip gate boosted (OGB) buck converter in 40-nm CMOS with more than 90% efficiency in load range from 2µW to 50µW , 2012, 2012 Symposium on VLSI Circuits (VLSIC).

[2]  Chia-Ling Wei,et al.  Adaptive Peak-Inductor-Current-Controlled PFM Boost Converter With a Near-Threshold Startup Voltage and High Efficiency , 2015, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[3]  Biranchinath Sahu,et al.  An Accurate, Low-Voltage, CMOS Switching Power Supply With Adaptive On-Time Pulse-Frequency Modulation (PFM) Control , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers.

[4]  Anantha P. Chandrakasan,et al.  A 1.1 nW Energy-Harvesting System with 544 pW Quiescent Power for Next-Generation Implants , 2014, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[5]  Tai-Haur Kuo,et al.  A Single-Inductor Dual-Path Three-Switch Converter With Energy-Recycling Technique for Light Energy Harvesting , 2016, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[6]  C. Van Hoof,et al.  Micropower energy harvesting , 2009, ESSDERC 2009.

[7]  G. Cho,et al.  A 40 mV Transformer-Reuse Self-Startup Boost Converter With MPPT Control for Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting , 2012, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[8]  Kazunori Watanabe,et al.  A 0.6 V Input CCM/DCM Operating Digital Buck Converter in 40 nm CMOS , 2014, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[9]  Howard Tang,et al.  A 400 nW Single-Inductor Dual-Input–Tri-Output DC–DC Buck–Boost Converter With Maximum Power Point Tracking for Indoor Photovoltaic Energy Harvesting , 2015, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[10]  Anantha Chandrakasan,et al.  20 $\mu$ A to 100 mA DC–DC Converter With 2.8-4.2 V Battery Supply for Portable Applications in 45 nm CMOS , 2011, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[11]  Dejan Markovic,et al.  A Miniaturized 0.78-mW/cm2 Autonomous Thermoelectric Energy-Harvesting Platform for Biomedical Sensors , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems.

[12]  Ana Rusu,et al.  A Dual-Output Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting Interface With 86.6% Peak Efficiency at 30 $\mu {\text {W}}$ and Total Control Power of 160 nW , 2016, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[13]  Anantha Chandrakasan,et al.  23.2 A 1.1nW energy harvesting system with 544pW quiescent power for next-generation implants , 2014, 2014 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference Digest of Technical Papers (ISSCC).

[14]  Anantha Chandrakasan,et al.  A 330nA energy-harvesting charger with battery management for solar and thermoelectric energy harvesting , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference.

[15]  Anantha Chandrakasan,et al.  Platform architecture for solar, thermal and vibration energy combining with MPPT and single inductor , 2011, 2011 Symposium on VLSI Circuits - Digest of Technical Papers.

[16]  Chulwoo Kim,et al.  A DC-DC boost converter with variation tolerant MPPT technique and efficient ZCS circuit for thermoelectric energy harvesting applications , 2014, 2014 19th Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference (ASP-DAC).

[17]  Benton H. Calhoun,et al.  A 1.2µW SIMO energy harvesting and power management unit with constant peak inductor current control achieving 83–92% efficiency across wide input and output voltages , 2014, 2014 Symposium on VLSI Circuits Digest of Technical Papers.

[18]  Ke-Horng Chen,et al.  Reduction of Equivalent Series Inductor Effect in Delay-Ripple Reshaped Constant On-Time Control for Buck Converter With Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[19]  Philip K. T. Mok,et al.  Design of Transformer-Based Boost Converter for High Internal Resistance Energy Harvesting Sources With 21 mV Self-Startup Voltage and 74% Power Efficiency , 2014, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[20]  Po-Hung Chen,et al.  A single-inductor triple-input-triple-output (SITITO) energy harvesting interface with cycle-by-cycle source tracking and adaptive peak-inductor-current control , 2017, 2017 IEEE Asian Solid-State Circuits Conference (A-SSCC).

[21]  David D. Wentzloff,et al.  A 10 mV-Input Boost Converter With Inductor Peak Current Control and Zero Detection for Thermoelectric and Solar Energy Harvesting With 220 mV Cold-Start and $-$14.5 dBm, 915 MHz RF Kick-Start , 2015, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[22]  Po-Hung Chen,et al.  A 50 nW-to-10 mW Output Power Tri-Mode Digital Buck Converter With Self-Tracking Zero Current Detection for Photovoltaic Energy Harvesting , 2016, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.