A New Design for Vibration-Based Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting Systems Using Coil Inductance of Microgenerator

In this paper, a new design methodology for low-voltage electromagnetic energy harvesting systems consisting of a microgenerator and power processing circuit is introduced. In the first section of this paper, a simple topology for a resonance-based electromagnetic generator is presented. The microgenerator is capable of producing a voltage of a few hundred millivolts. Since traditional two-stage power conversion schemes cannot be used for such a low ac voltage, a suitable single-stage ac-dc converter is utilized for power processing. The converter boosts the low ac voltage to a nominal dc voltage required by electronic devices. As a part of integrated design, the coil of the microgenerator is fabricated such that it can be utilized both for electromagnetic induction and power processing. Such an arrangement improves efficiency and makes the system compact. The converter is controlled to regulate the output voltage under varying input or load conditions. Simulation and experimental results are presented to validate the operation of the proposed converter with a low-voltage microgenerator.