Single-transistor sub-1-V self-startup voltage boost energy harvesting system for microbial fuel cells

Abstract

Energy harvesting from renewable ambient energy sources has recently gained attention for newly developed generators and applications. Although considerable amount of energy is available in surrounding environment in various shapes, scavenging ambient energy has many challenges, which include operating with low input voltage, supplying high output voltage, and coldstart without auxiliary assistance. In this paper, a voltage boost energy harvester with autonomous startup capability that can operate in sub-1-V input voltage is proposed. The proposed circuit has a simple integrative configuration with positive feedback oscillator, energy harvesting flyback converter, and voltage regulating DC/DC converter. Comprehensive mathematical analysis and experimental validation is presented in this paper. The proposed circuitry is readily implementable using commercial-off-the-shelf components.