Power converter for ultra low-frequency and low-voltage energy harvesters
Abstract Energy conversion mechanisms present in some harvesters are only able to provide very low voltage (mV) and frequency (few Hz) electrical signals, which may also have a bipolar nature (AC). These characteristics make unusable most conventional power converters to extract from them a DC volta...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Micro and Nano Systems Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40486-025-00229-1 |
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| author | Mikel Hualde-Otamendi Carlos A. De La Cruz-Blas J. Carlos Castellano-Aldave Alfonso Carlosena |
| author_facet | Mikel Hualde-Otamendi Carlos A. De La Cruz-Blas J. Carlos Castellano-Aldave Alfonso Carlosena |
| author_sort | Mikel Hualde-Otamendi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Energy conversion mechanisms present in some harvesters are only able to provide very low voltage (mV) and frequency (few Hz) electrical signals, which may also have a bipolar nature (AC). These characteristics make unusable most conventional power converters to extract from them a DC voltage. This letter describes an autonomous self-starting ultra-low voltage and frequency AC-DC converter that can start the operation for AC signals around 25 mV, and below 10 Hz. The converter has been designed with ultra-low vibration harvesters in mind, but is also of application to, for instance, thermoelectric generators (TEG). The circuit is basically an oscillator driven by the harvester output, which therefore converts a low-frequency and low-voltage signal into large signal oscillation amenable for further DC conversion. The proposed circuit is based on the classical Hartley oscillator, which is modified in a nontrivial configuration, and optimized to be able to operate with bipolar, low frequency and voltage driving signals. This is achieved with a minimum number of passive components and a single JFET transistor. A practical prototype has been fabricated, and measurement results are obtained, demonstrating the feasibility of the approach. Moreover, a vibration harvester with the power converter proposed has been tested in real conditions in a wind turbine. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bfbf309e52db4e5dae10f81ba2b0c0a9 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2213-9621 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micro and Nano Systems Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-bfbf309e52db4e5dae10f81ba2b0c0a92025-08-20T02:00:01ZengSpringerOpenMicro and Nano Systems Letters2213-96212025-05-0113111110.1186/s40486-025-00229-1Power converter for ultra low-frequency and low-voltage energy harvestersMikel Hualde-Otamendi0Carlos A. De La Cruz-Blas1J. Carlos Castellano-Aldave2Alfonso Carlosena3Department of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Engineering, Public University of Navarre (UPNA)Department of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Engineering, Public University of Navarre (UPNA)Department of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Engineering, Public University of Navarre (UPNA)Department of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Engineering, Public University of Navarre (UPNA)Abstract Energy conversion mechanisms present in some harvesters are only able to provide very low voltage (mV) and frequency (few Hz) electrical signals, which may also have a bipolar nature (AC). These characteristics make unusable most conventional power converters to extract from them a DC voltage. This letter describes an autonomous self-starting ultra-low voltage and frequency AC-DC converter that can start the operation for AC signals around 25 mV, and below 10 Hz. The converter has been designed with ultra-low vibration harvesters in mind, but is also of application to, for instance, thermoelectric generators (TEG). The circuit is basically an oscillator driven by the harvester output, which therefore converts a low-frequency and low-voltage signal into large signal oscillation amenable for further DC conversion. The proposed circuit is based on the classical Hartley oscillator, which is modified in a nontrivial configuration, and optimized to be able to operate with bipolar, low frequency and voltage driving signals. This is achieved with a minimum number of passive components and a single JFET transistor. A practical prototype has been fabricated, and measurement results are obtained, demonstrating the feasibility of the approach. Moreover, a vibration harvester with the power converter proposed has been tested in real conditions in a wind turbine.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40486-025-00229-1Micro energy harvestingUltra-low input voltageUltra-low frequency operationAC–DC converter |
| spellingShingle | Mikel Hualde-Otamendi Carlos A. De La Cruz-Blas J. Carlos Castellano-Aldave Alfonso Carlosena Power converter for ultra low-frequency and low-voltage energy harvesters Micro and Nano Systems Letters Micro energy harvesting Ultra-low input voltage Ultra-low frequency operation AC–DC converter |
| title | Power converter for ultra low-frequency and low-voltage energy harvesters |
| title_full | Power converter for ultra low-frequency and low-voltage energy harvesters |
| title_fullStr | Power converter for ultra low-frequency and low-voltage energy harvesters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Power converter for ultra low-frequency and low-voltage energy harvesters |
| title_short | Power converter for ultra low-frequency and low-voltage energy harvesters |
| title_sort | power converter for ultra low frequency and low voltage energy harvesters |
| topic | Micro energy harvesting Ultra-low input voltage Ultra-low frequency operation AC–DC converter |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40486-025-00229-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mikelhualdeotamendi powerconverterforultralowfrequencyandlowvoltageenergyharvesters AT carlosadelacruzblas powerconverterforultralowfrequencyandlowvoltageenergyharvesters AT jcarloscastellanoaldave powerconverterforultralowfrequencyandlowvoltageenergyharvesters AT alfonsocarlosena powerconverterforultralowfrequencyandlowvoltageenergyharvesters |