Micropower Generation: Principles and Applications

The emerging mass market for autonomous wireless sensor nodes can only be well served by using energy harvesting technologies fabricated using micro technologies in combination with dedicated rechargeable energy storage devices. This chapter discusses four of the main energy harvesting principles ( Vibration, Photovoltaic, Thermal and RF) and some basic design rules of micro-machined harvesting devices. Efficient power management and energy storage systems are essential to optimize the power supply by the harvesting devices. Applications in the field of body-area networks, automotive, and predictive maintenance are discussed showing how to reduce power consumption, how to store energy and how to minimize the system volume