Review of Power Conversion and Energy Management for Low-Power, Low-Voltage Energy Harvesting Powered Wireless Sensors

In this paper, state-of-the-art power electronics and energy management solutions utilized in low-power (less than 5 mW), low-voltage (less than 3 V) energy harvesting powered wireless sensors for Internet of things related applications are detailed. All aspects of an energy harvesting powered sensor system are examined, including the challenges of low-power energy harvesting sources, energy management circuits including power converters and energy storage elements, as well as the impact of wireless sensor pulsed power profiles. In particular, this paper focuses on existing voltage step-up energy management techniques, including the issues of cold-start and maximum power point tracking, as well as energy storage which is necessary for wireless sensor operation. Both academic and commercially available energy harvesting powered systems are examined to provide a comprehensive analysis of existing solutions. Issues that are limiting the current system performance are identified to help define future developments needed to enable efficient and effective energy harvesting powered wireless sensor operation.