Model Based Optimization of Integrated Low Voltage DC-DC Converter for Energy Harvesting Applications

A novel model based methodology is presented to determine optimal device parameters for the fully integrated ultra low voltage DC-DC converter for energy harvesting applications. The proposed model feasibly contributes to determine the maximum efficient number of charge pump stages to fulfill the voltage requirement of the energy harvester application. The proposed DC-DC converter based power consumption model enables the analytical derivation of the charge pump efficiency when utilized simultaneously with the known LC tank oscillator behavior under resonant conditions, and voltage step up characteristics of the cross-coupled charge pump topology. The verification of the model has been done using a circuit simulator. The optimized system through the established model achieves more than 40% maximum efficiency yielding 0.45 V output with single stage, 0.75 V output with two stages, and 0.9 V with three stages for 2.5 kΩ, 3.5 kΩ and 5 kΩ loads respectively using 0.2 V input. (paper)