An Efficient AC–DC Step-Up Converter for Low-Voltage Energy Harvesting

The conventional two-stage power converters with bridge rectifiers are inefficient and may not be practical for the low-voltage microgenerators. This paper presents an efficient ac-to-dc power converter that avoids the bridge rectification and directly converts the low AC input voltage to the required high dc output voltage at a higher efficiency. The proposed converter consists of a boost converter in parallel with a buck-boost converter, which are operated in the positive half cycle and negative half cycle, respectively. Detailed analysis of the converter is carried out to obtain relations between the power, circuit parameters, and duty cycle of the converter. Based on the analysis, control schemes are proposed to operate the converter. Design guidelines are presented for selecting the converter component and control parameters. A self-starting circuit is proposed for independent operation of the converter. Detailed loss calculation of the converter is carried out. Simulation and experimental results are presented to validate the proposed converter topology and control schemes.