Low-Power Electronics in Autonomous Systems

Inhalt:
This paper presents novel circuit concepts for integrated rectifiers and voltage converting interfaces for energy harvesting micro-generators. In addition, novel approaches for ultra low-voltage digital design as well as power efficient RF transceiver circuits are given. The supply voltage depends not only on the size and level of excitation of the generator, but is also strongly related to the used inductive, electrostatic or piezoelectric conversion principle. Therefore, rectification with minimum voltage losses and low reverse currents is an important issue. Load adaptation for maximized generator power as well as efficient storage of the harvested energy are further issues, which are also addressed in this paper. This paper gives an overview and shows concrete design implementations from printed circuit board level towards modern integrated circuit design and new processes, which lead to low power, low voltage, and high integration level.