Micro-power Scavenging from Multiple Heterogeneous Piezoelectric and RF Sources

Since power harvesting applications are often constrained by the low levels of power available from individual energy transducers, it is essential for energy converters to efficiently deal with multiple independent and heterogeneous sources. This paper will present two actively controlled power conversion schemes able to deal with multiple piezoelectric and radio-frequency (RF) energy sources. Both converters are based on active control and make use of an ultra-low power standard microcontroller unit whose intrinsic power consumption is negligible with respect to the harvested power in realistic operating conditions.