Design of a low-input-voltage converter for thermoelectric generator

Low-grade exhaust heat is used to provide a reliable and independent power source for instrumentation circuitry by means of a thermoelectric generator (TEG). A design of a self-starting DC-DC power converter is developed and optimized for very-low-input voltages (below 300 mV) in order to allow operation at temperature differences of 20/spl deg/C and less. A prototype is built, and the results are experimentally verified.