Energy Management and Micro Energy Technology
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits
Energy Harvesting
- Block diagram of a wireless sensor with thermoelectrical energy supply
There is currently a trend towards lower power consumption in electronic circuits and systems. In addition to this the efficiency of energy transducers such as solar cells, thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and mechanical generators is being further optimized. Thus energy from the environment or the human body in the form of heat, light or motion can be used to power electronic devices. Typical application devices are sensors, wireless transceivers and displays.
These energy-harvesting technologies can
- extend operating times of mobile devices regardless of their battery capacities,
- make unlimited standby times feasible and
- even substitute batteries.
- Grafical user interface for a thermoelectrical power supply
We develop specific discrete and integrated power management prototypes (e.g. dc-dc converters) to match and adapt the energy transducers to the electronic loads to be powered. Special technologies such as MPPT (maximum power point tracking) are used to exploit the maximum electrical power from the employed transducers.
With the help of smart power management, application of the latest power management policies and design of suitable hardware, we can support you in designing your power supply. By means of these energy-autarkic systems, we can implement customized sensing applications and wireless communications solutions.
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