EE599 Energy Harvesting Circuits And Systems (Fall 2016, 2017)
Course Summary:
The advances in sensors, embedded processing, and wireless connectivity have fueled the emergence of wearable and implanted electronics. Rather than being carried in a pocket or a bag, these devices actually live on and in us and unobtrusively become part of our daily life. Since the users are always looking for seamless operation of this class of devices, which does not require their intervention to change or charge the battery, energy harvesting from the environment has emerged as a key solution for such systems. This course will provide the students with the solid foundation to design energy harvesting circuits for autonomous systems. The harvesting system consists of three main components (a) energy transducer that converters the energy from its free form in the environment into electrical energy, (b) interface circuits (power converters) that extract energy efficiently from the harvester and deliver it to the load, (c) control circuits for output voltage regulation, maximum power tracking, etc. Thus, the course will also be split into three modules as follows with extensive focus on the interface circuits design:
1. Power Converters Design: inductive based converters, switched capacitor DC-DC converters, rectifiers, passives, losses calculation and design strategies for maximal efficiency for ultra low power applications.
2. ULP Control Circuits: circuit design in sub-threshold, maximum power extraction techniques, output regulation logic, design of ultra-low power reference circuits.
3. Fundamentals of Energy Transducers: equivalent circuits of energy transducers for solar, thermal and vibration based applications.
Course Summary:
The advances in sensors, embedded processing, and wireless connectivity have fueled the emergence of wearable and implanted electronics. Rather than being carried in a pocket or a bag, these devices actually live on and in us and unobtrusively become part of our daily life. Since the users are always looking for seamless operation of this class of devices, which does not require their intervention to change or charge the battery, energy harvesting from the environment has emerged as a key solution for such systems. This course will provide the students with the solid foundation to design energy harvesting circuits for autonomous systems. The harvesting system consists of three main components (a) energy transducer that converters the energy from its free form in the environment into electrical energy, (b) interface circuits (power converters) that extract energy efficiently from the harvester and deliver it to the load, (c) control circuits for output voltage regulation, maximum power tracking, etc. Thus, the course will also be split into three modules as follows with extensive focus on the interface circuits design:
1. Power Converters Design: inductive based converters, switched capacitor DC-DC converters, rectifiers, passives, losses calculation and design strategies for maximal efficiency for ultra low power applications.
2. ULP Control Circuits: circuit design in sub-threshold, maximum power extraction techniques, output regulation logic, design of ultra-low power reference circuits.
3. Fundamentals of Energy Transducers: equivalent circuits of energy transducers for solar, thermal and vibration based applications.