Nano-Power Integrated Circuits for Energy Harvesting

The energy harvesting research field has grown considerably in the last decade due to increasing interests in energy autonomous sensing systems, which require smart and efficient interfaces for extracting power from energy source and power management (PM) circuits. This thesis investigates the design trade-offs for minimizing the intrinsic power of PM circuits, in order to allow operation with very weak energy sources. For validation purposes, three different integrated power converter and PM circuits for energy harvesting applications are presented. They have been designed for nano-power operations and single-source converters can operate with input power lower than 1 μW. The first IC is a buck-boost converter for piezoelectric transducers (PZ) implementing Synchronous Electrical Charge Extraction (SECE), a non-linear energy extraction technique. Moreover, Residual Charge Inversion technique is exploited for extracting energy from PZ with weak and irregular excitations (i.e. lower voltage), and the implemented PM policy, named Two-Way Energy Storage, considerably reduces the start-up time of the converter, improving the overall conversion efficiency. The second proposed IC is a general-purpose buck-boost converter for low-voltage DC energy sources, up to 2.5 V. An ultra-low-power MPPT circuit has been designed in order to track variations of source power. Furthermore, a capacitive boost circuit has been included, allowing the converter start-up from a source voltage VDC0 = 223 mV. A nano-power programmable linear regulator is also included in order to provide a stable voltage to the load. The third IC implements an heterogeneous multisource buck-boost converter. It provides up to 9 independent input channels, of which 5 are specific for PZ (with SECE) and 4 for DC energy sources with MPPT. The inductor is shared among channels and an arbiter, designed with asynchronous logic to reduce the energy consumption, avoids simultaneous access to the buck-boost core, with a dynamic schedule based on source priority

Design and Control of Power Converters 2019

In this book, 20 papers focused on different fields of power electronics are gathered. Approximately half of the papers are focused on different control issues and techniques, ranging from the computer-aided design of digital compensators to more specific approaches such as fuzzy or sliding control techniques. The rest of the papers are focused on the design of novel topologies. The fields in which these controls and topologies are applied are varied: MMCs, photovoltaic systems, supercapacitors and traction systems, LEDs, wireless power transfer, etc

CMOS indoor light energy harvesting system for wireless sensing applications

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de ComputadoresThis research thesis presents a micro-power light energy harvesting system for indoor environments. Light energy is collected by amorphous silicon photovoltaic (a-Si:H PV) cells, processed by a switched-capacitor (SC) voltage doubler circuit with maximum power point tracking (MPPT), and finally stored in a large capacitor. The MPPT Fractional Open Circuit Voltage (VOC) technique is implemented by an asynchronous state machine (ASM) that creates and, dynamically, adjusts the clock frequency of the step-up SC circuit, matching the input impedance of the SC circuit to the maximum power point (MPP) condition of the PV cells. The ASM has a separate local power supply to make it robust against load variations. In order to reduce the area occupied by the SC circuit, while maintaining an acceptable efficiency value, the SC circuit uses MOSFET capacitors with a charge reusing scheme for the bottom plate parasitic capacitors. The circuit occupies an area of 0.31 mm2 in a 130 nm CMOS technology. The system was designed in order to work under realistic indoor light intensities. Experimental results show that the proposed system, using PV cells with an area of 14 cm2, is capable of starting-up from a 0 V condition, with an irradiance of only 0.32 W/m2. After starting-up, the system requires an irradiance of only 0.18 W/m2 (18 mW/cm2) to remain in operation. The ASM circuit can operate correctly using a local power supply voltage of 453 mV, dissipating only 0.085 mW. These values are, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the lowest reported in the literature. The maximum efficiency of the SC converter is 70.3% for an input power of 48 mW, which is comparable with reported values from circuits operating at similar power levels.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT/MCTES), under project PEst-OE/EEI/UI0066/2011, and to the CTS multiannual funding, through the PIDDAC Program funds. I am also very grateful for the grant SFRH/PROTEC/67683/2010, financially supported by the IPL – Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa

Survey of FPGA applications in the period 2000 – 2015 (Technical Report)

Romoth J, Porrmann M, Rückert U. Survey of FPGA applications in the period 2000 – 2015 (Technical Report).; 2017.Since their introduction, FPGAs can be seen in more and more different fields of applications. The key advantage is the combination of software-like flexibility with the performance otherwise common to hardware. Nevertheless, every application field introduces special requirements to the used computational architecture. This paper provides an overview of the different topics FPGAs have been used for in the last 15 years of research and why they have been chosen over other processing units like e.g. CPUs

Industrial and Technological Applications of Power Electronics Systems

The Special Issue "Industrial and Technological Applications of Power Electronics Systems" focuses on: - new strategies of control for electric machines, including sensorless control and fault diagnosis; - existing and emerging industrial applications of GaN and SiC-based converters; - modern methods for electromagnetic compatibility. The book covers topics such as control systems, fault diagnosis, converters, inverters, and electromagnetic interference in power electronics systems. The Special Issue includes 19 scientific papers by industry experts and worldwide professors in the area of electrical engineering

Advances in Computer Science and Engineering

The book Advances in Computer Science and Engineering constitutes the revised selection of 23 chapters written by scientists and researchers from all over the world. The chapters cover topics in the scientific fields of Applied Computing Techniques, Innovations in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Applications and Advances in Applied Modeling

Design and Control of Power Converters 2020

In this book, nine papers focusing on different fields of power electronics are gathered, all of which are in line with the present trends in research and industry. Given the generality of the Special Issue, the covered topics range from electrothermal models and losses models in semiconductors and magnetics to converters used in high-power applications. In this last case, the papers address specific problems such as the distortion due to zero-current detection or fault investigation using the fast Fourier transform, all being focused on analyzing the topologies of high-power high-density applications, such as the dual active bridge or the H-bridge multilevel inverter. All the papers provide enough insight in the analyzed issues to be used as the starting point of any research. Experimental or simulation results are presented to validate and help with the understanding of the proposed ideas. To summarize, this book will help the reader to solve specific problems in industrial equipment or to increase their knowledge in specific fields

Investigación sobre la flexibilidad de la demanda en redes eléctricas inteligentes: control directo de cargas

In recent decades, the European Union has made decisive efforts to maintain its global leadership in renewable energies to meet climate change targets resulting from international agreements. There is a deliberate intention to reduce the usage of non-renewable energy sources and promote the exploitation of renewable generation at all levels as shown by energy production data within the Eurozone. The electricity sector illustrates a successful implementation of these energy policies: The electricity coming from combustible fuels was at historical lows in 2018, accounting for 83.6 % of the electricity generated from this source in 2008. By contrast, the pool of renewables reached almost 170 % of the 2008 production. Against this background, power systems worldwide are undergoing deep-seated changes due to the increasing penetration of these variable renewable energy sources and distributed energy resources that are intermittent and stochastic in nature. Under these conditions, achieving a continuous balance between generation and consumption becomes a challenge and may jeopardize the system stability, which points out the need of making the power system flexible enough as a response measure to this trend. This Ph.D. thesis researches one of the principal mechanisms providing flexibility to the power system: The demand-side management, seen from both the demand response and the energy efficiency perspectives. Power quality issues as a non-negligible part of energy efficiency are also addressed. To do so, several strategies have been deployed at a double level. In the residential sector, a direct load control strategy for smart appliances has been developed under a real-time pricing demand response scheme. This strategy seeks to minimize the daily cost of energy in presence of diverse energy resources and appliances. Furthermore, a spread spectrum technique has also been applied to mitigate the highfrequency distortion derived from the usage of LED technology lighting systems instead of traditional ones when energy efficiency needs to be improved. In the industrial sector, a load scheduling strategy to control the AC-AC power electronic converter in charge of supporting the electric-boosted glass melting furnaces has been developed. The benefit is two-fold: While it contributes to demand flexibility by shaving the peaks found under conventional control schemes, the power quality issues related to the emission of subharmonics are also kept to a minimum. Concerning the technologies, this Ph.D. thesis provides smart solutions, platforms, and devices to carry out these strategies: From the application of the internet of things paradigm to the development of the required electronics and the implementation of international standards within the energy industry.En las últimas décadas, la Unión Europea ha realizado esfuerzos decisivos para mantener su liderazgo mundial en energías renovables con el fin de cumplir los objetivos de cambio climático resultantes de los acuerdos internacionales. Muestra una intención deliberada de reducir el uso de fuentes de energía no renovable y promover la explotación de la generación renovable a todos los niveles, como demuestran los datos de producción de energía en la eurozona. El sector de la electricidad ilustra un caso de éxito de estas políticas energéticas: la electricidad procedente de combustibles fósiles estaba en mínimos históricos en 2018, representando el 83,6 % de la electricidad generada a partir de esta fuente en 2008; en cambio, el grupo de renovables alcanzó casi el 170 % de la producción de 2008. En este contexto, los sistemas eléctricos de todo el mundo están experimentando profundos cambios debido a la creciente penetración de estas fuentes de energía renovable y de recursos energéticos distribuidos que son de naturaleza variable, intermitente y estocástica. En estas condiciones, lograr un equilibrio continuo entre generación y consumo se convierte en un reto y puede poner en peligro la estabilidad del sistema, lo que señala la necesidad de flexibilizar el sistema eléctrico como medida de respuesta a esta tendencia. Esta tesis doctoral investiga uno de los principales mecanismos que proporcionan flexibilidad al sistema eléctrico: la gestión de la demanda vista tanto desde la perspectiva de la respuesta a la demanda como de la eficiencia energética. También se abordan los problemas de calidad de suministro entendidos como parte no despreciable de la eficiencia energética. Para ello, se han desplegado varias estrategias a un doble nivel. En el sector residencial, se ha desarrollado una estrategia basada en el control directo de cargas para los electrodomésticos inteligentes siguiendo un esquema de respuesta a la demanda con precios en tiempo real. Esta estrategia busca minimizar el coste diario de la energía en presencia de diversos recursos energéticos y electrodomésticos. Además, también se ha aplicado una técnica de espectro ensanchado para mitigar la distorsión de alta frecuencia derivada del uso de sistemas de iluminación con tecnología LED, empleados para la mejora de la eficiencia energética frente a las tecnologías convencionales. En el sector industrial, se ha desarrollado una estrategia de planificación de cargas para controlar el convertidor AC-AC de los hornos de fundición de vidrio con soporte eléctrico. El beneficio es doble: mientras que se contribuye a la flexibilidad de la demanda al eliminar los picos encontrados en los esquemas de control convencionales, también se reducen al mínimo los problemas de calidad de suministro relacionados con la emisión de subarmónicos. En cuanto a las tecnologías, esta tesis doctoral aporta soluciones, plataformas y dispositivos inteligentes para llevar a cabo estas estrategias: desde la aplicación del paradigma del internet de las cosas hasta el desarrollo de la electrónica necesaria y la implementación de estándares internacionales dentro de la industria energética