Title :
Vibration-to-electric energy conversion
Author :
Meninger, Scott ; Mur-Miranda, Jose Oscar ; Amirtharajah, Rajeevan ; Chandrakasan, Anantha P. ; Lang, Jeffrey H.
Author_Institution :
MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
Abstract :
A system is proposed to convert ambient mechanical vibration into electrical energy for use in powering autonomous low power electronic systems. The energy is transduced through the use of a variable capacitor. Using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, such a device has been designed for the system. A low-power controller IC has been fabricated in a 0.6-/spl mu/m CMOS process and has been tested and measured for losses. Based on the tests, the system is expected to produce 8 /spl mu/W of usable power. In addition to the fabricated programmable controller, an ultra low-power delay locked loop (DLL)-based system capable of autonomously achieving a steady-state lock to the vibration frequency is described.
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; capacitors; delay lock loops; micromechanical devices; power supply circuits; programmable controllers; vibrations; 0.6 micron; 8 muW; CMOS IC; MEMS transducer; autonomous low-power electronic system; delay locked loop; programmable controller; variable capacitor; vibration-to-electric energy conversion; CMOS integrated circuits; CMOS technology; Capacitors; Electric variables control; Energy conversion; Low power electronics; Mechanical variables control; Microelectromechanical systems; Micromechanical devices; Vibrations;
Journal_Title :
Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems, IEEE Transactions on
