A low-power-consumption boost converter with maximum power tracking algorithm for indoor photovoltaic energy harvesting

In recent years, wireless sensor network technique develops rapidly, but its operation life is still limited by the energy storage element. Thus, if ambient energy can be harvested to supply the sensors, the operation life can be increased and the cost can be reduced. A boost converter for indoor photovoltaic energy harvesting with low power consumption is proposed in this work. For harvesting energy from photovoltaic cells, the proposed converter uses the maximum power point tracking algorithm, which regulates the conduction time of the power transistors. The harvested energy is stored in a super capacitor. The proposed system is integrated into a chip, which was fabricated by using a 0.18μm 1P6M mixed-signal process, and the total area is 853×1006 μm
²
.