U.S. Egypt Cooperative Resarch: Power Management Circuit for Micropower Thermoelectric Generators with Low-Voltage Startup

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AbstractThis project supports collaborative research between Dr. E Sanchez-Sinencio, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas Engineering Experiment Station, Texas A&M University and Dr. Ahmed Nader Mohieldin, Cairo University in Egypt. The research will focus on the development of a power management circuit that can provide power to systems or devices where battery replacement or remote charging is unpractical or simply not feasible. These include biomedical and industrial wireless sensors, home and building automation systems, and automated meter reading. Intellectual Merit. The proposed research addresses the need to demonstrate, design and measure, a power management unit (PMU) with a low startup voltage that operates from a compact power supply such as thermoelectric generators (TEG). These generators convert ambient environmental energy into electrical energy but to be effective in changing environments, a power management unit is needed. The PI?s will use TEGs and low cost complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology to develop the PMU. The approach will reduce the required TEG output voltage, and therefore its area; and it will extend the operating temperature range of a given size of the TEG. Broader Impact. The reduced size and wide operating temperature range of the overall energy harvesting solution will be very attractive to size-sensitive applications. The two PIs will train three graduate students (including domestic and under-represented groups) in individual and team research projects using state-of-the-art CMOS technologies. Project results will be disseminated through IEEE journals and conferences, workshops, and seminars open to all graduate students. The results will be incorporated into the syllabi of both undergraduate and graduate courses. The project is funded under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to undertake cooperative research.