Characterization of energy storage components for a versatile energy management system

In energy autonomous systems different components like the RF transmitter, sensor elements or in some cases even actuators are integral parts of a wireless sensor node (WSN). These components have in part very different properties regarding their power consumptions and on/off times. By this, the requirements for the short and long term energy storage components used in the system, especially maximum output current and charge retention capability, are defined. Different capacitors, super capacitors, and thin film batteries are characterized with respect to their short and long term leakage currents und their successive charging behavior. Additionally an energy management system is presented, which shows how to realize an optimal energy flow for multiple sources and storages.