A piezoelectric energy harvesting interface circuit using one-shot pulse transformer boost converter based on water bucket fountain strategy

Recent advancement in commercial MEMS-based piezoelectric energy harvesters has enabled further reduction of both system cost and size as the device dimension scales down. A nature inspired interface circuit by mimicking water bucket fountain to harvest piezoelectric charge is presented. The proposed architecture offers built-in input voltage protection, harvests electrical energy using minimal switching activity and does not cause mechanical dampening to the piezoelectric cantilever. System simulation and measurement using a standard CMOS 0.13μm process verified the proposed architecture. The pulse transformer boost converter has self-start voltage as low as 45mV and peak efficiency up to 75%, whereas the remaining digital control and voltage processing circuits require less than 1.5μW to operate.