Combining energy harvesting and power management for a complete wireless sensor power solution

Wireless sensors provide solutions to otherwise intractable problems where it is impractical to deploy wired sensors. One of the biggest challenges facing wireless sensors is power. Advances in power management and battery technologies may soon enable three year life from primary batteries, but will require stringent control over sensor operation that, in many applications, will place unacceptable limits on the performance of parameters such as data rate or transmission range. Energy harvesting provides a solution to these problems, but tends to be limited by the inherent low and fluctuating level of ambient energy. In this presentation we will demonstrate a system that combines smart, ultra-low power charge management circuitry and electrochemical energy storage that is compatible with any energy harvesting technology. This building block is essential for realizing a power system that can replace batteries in end-user systems providing the benefits of energy harvesting technology while mitigating the drawbacks.