KETI Develops Broadband-Ultra-Small Power Conversion Circuit for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting: "Will Contribute to Revitalizing IoT Market"
Published2019.05.22 14:56| Low power, high efficiency characteristics for vibration, friction, RF, etc.
Applicable to various energy harvesting fields
The Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) announced on the 21st that it has developed a miniature, wideband power conversion circuit for piezoelectric energy harvesting that can handle various frequencies and amplitudes without a separate algorithm, through joint research with the University of South Paris (UPSUD) in France.
Power conversion circuit board developed by KETI
Piezoelectric energy harvesting technology is a technology that secures energy from ambient vibrations, pressure changes, etc., and is a core technology required for IoT sensors and other devices where regular battery replacement is essential.
The core technology is a power conversion circuit that converts AC power generated by vibration and pressure into DC power so that it can be used as a power source.
Existing studies employed a method of securing maximum output by performing impedance matching to respond to vibrations of various frequencies and amplitudes present in the surroundings, such as natural environments like wind and artificial environments like factory equipment.
Therefore, not only had to be implemented with a semiconductor chip containing a complex algorithm, but the power consumption to drive it was also high, exceeding several hundred μW (microwatts).
Power conversion efficiency also depends on the vibration frequency.Due to significant fluctuations such as a sharp drop, it was possible to achieve an efficiency of 80% only in a specific frequency band where efficiency was optimized.
The power conversion circuit developed by KETI this time does not require impedance matching because it extracts energy by utilizing the characteristics of a buck-boosting type power conversion circuit in which the impedance is maintained constant at the point of maximum power extraction.
Prototype made by turning the developed board into a semiconductor chipset
Thanks to this, power consumption is low, ranging from a few to tens of μW, and production costs can be reduced during mass production. Furthermore, the conversion efficiency is excellent, with over 80% for a wide frequency band of 108 to 132 Hz and vibration magnitudes of 0.5 to 2.0 G, and particularly about 90% across the entire frequency range for vibration magnitudes of 2.0 G.
The 108~132Hz band is a common vibration frequency band for power infrastructure-related equipment that is being discussed as a killer application for piezoelectric energy harvesting due to continuous vibration.
Dr. Yoo Chan-se of the Convergence Electronic Materials Research Center, who led this research, stated, “We have currently filed five international patents (including two PCT patents) in collaboration with the University of South Paris in France, and our originality has been recognized through more than 10 international journals,” adding, “Based on the secured intellectual property rights, we are currently in discussions regarding technology transfer with domestic and European companies, including those in France.”
Dr. Yoo continued, “The technology developed this time is not only for piezoelectric energy harvesting, but also“It can be widely applied to RF harvesting and triboelectric harvesting, which require converting AC signals of various frequencies and magnitudes into DC,” they said, adding, “Moving forward, we will contribute to the expansion of IoT application markets, such as power infrastructure facility monitoring and equipment monitoring within smart factories, through this technology.”
Meanwhile, this technology development was carried out as part of the 'Development of High-Efficiency Circuit Technology for 10mW-Class Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters Based on High-Efficiency Circuits with a Conversion Efficiency of Over 75%' project, an international joint energy research and development project supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation Institute (KETEP). Currently, commercialization is being pursued through demonstration experiments targeting power infrastructure such as transformers and reactors in domestic thermal power plants and substations.
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