A Reconfigurable Cold-Startup SSHI Rectifier with 4X Lower Input Amplitude Requirement for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting
X. Yue (TU Delft - Electronic Instrumentation)
Yiwei Zou (Student TU Delft)
Zhelun Chen (Student TU Delft)
Junrui Liang (ShanghaiTech University)
Sijun Du (TU Delft - Electronic Instrumentation)
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Abstract
Synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI) is an efficient active rectifier to extract energy generated from piezoelectric transducer in piezoelectric energy harvesting system. Unlike passive rectifiers, SSHI rectifiers require a power supply to drive synchronized switches. Unfortunately, there is no stable supply when the system starts from the cold state. Most designs let the system work as a passive full bridge rectifier (FBR) to charge power capacitor until a supply is available. However, a FBR requires high open-circuit voltage (VOC) and the FBR’s output voltage cannot go over VOC. This prevents the system from starting the SSHI rectifier if VOC is low. This paper proposes a new transducer reconfiguration design to lower the required VOC by 4 $\times$ to start up the SSHI system from the cold state. The proposed system is designed in a 0.18$-\mu$m BCD process and post-layout simulations show that the successful cold-startup under low VOC voltage.