Synchronous electric charge and induced current extraction (SECICE): a unified nonlinear technique combining piezoelectric and electromagnetic harvesting

In the framework of energy harvesting using as much as active parts as possible, this paper aims at proposing an electronic interface for hybrid (piezoelectric and electromagnetic) systems taking advantage of nonlinear treatments for significantly increasing the output current of an electromagnetic system while ensuring independence to the load for maximizing the final harvested power. The proposed technique, named Synchronous Electric Charge and Induced Current Extraction, is derived from a combination of the Synchronous Electric Charge Extraction (SECE) and Synchronous Magnetic Flux Extraction (SMFE) schemes, respectively developed for piezoelectric and electromagnetic systems. The principle of the proposed technique lies in first transferring the piezoelectric charges to the electromagnetic system, and then extracting the electromagnetic energy through the SMFE approach. Compared to the classical SMFE scheme, the proposed technique shows a significant increase in the output power, particularly for low-coupled/highly damped systems. (paper)