Publication
This paper reports on the design and experimental verifications of a passive step-up rectifier for MEMS piezoelectric energy scavengers. The purpose of the proposed circuit is to improve system startup for vibration micro-generators without the need of an external source of energy. The design chosen is based on a voltage multiplier where conventional diodes are replaced by PMOS low-VT transistors. The circuit is produced in 1.8V 0.18μm UMC CMOS technology. Test and verifications were performed using a real piezo scavenger providing an AC voltage of 0 to 350mVpeak at a frequency of around 2.4 kHz. Up to 2V DC was measured at the output of the rectifier.
Kyojin Choo, Li Xu, Yimai Peng
Alfredo Pasquarello, Aleksei Tal, Thomas Bischoff
Edoardo Charbon, Claudio Bruschini, Ekin Kizilkan, Pouyan Keshavarzian, Won Yong Ha, Francesco Gramuglia, Myung Jae Lee