• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.69-74
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• 2014

In this paper, an energy harvesting scheme is investigated in the multi-relay cooperation communication. Our proposal is to maximize the diversity gain and overcome the disadvantages of the limited power wireless devices. The best relay is selected based on the maximizing channel gains from source to relays so that the harvested energy at selected relay is best. If an internal power of the best relay is lower than a defined target power, the best relay will harvest the energy from the source, and the help of the source-destination link is changed to the second best relay. By this operation method, the diversity gain is maintained and the performance of the network is improved. Finally, performance of the proposed protocol is analyzed in terms of bit error rate, utilization efficiency, power collection efficiency.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.589-597
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• 2015

Wave energy harvesting system using OWC(Oscillating Water Column) and MB (Movable Body) attached at the caisson breakwater was studied. This system was suggested to maximize wave energy extraction using resonant phenomena of oscillating water column and buoy in wave channel (Park et al., 2014). Not only incident waves but also reflected waves from the breakwater can be used as sources of exciting force for harvesting wave energy efficiently. Using Galerkin finite model based on the linear wave theory (Park, 1991), the performance of the system was evaluated for various damping ratios of power take off system. Numerical results show that the proposed system is excellent in efficiency compared with that of conventional system and the performance of the system is governed by the resonance of oscillating water column in the wave channel. In addition, the additional efforts to minimize viscous damping was found to be necessary because viscous damping occurring in the channel and around the moving buoy is significant in generation efficiency.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.412-415
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• 2015

This paper presents a MPPT(Maximum Power Point Tracking) control CMOS interface circuit for vibration energy harvesting. The proposed circuit consists of an AC-DC converter, MPPT Controller, DC-DC boost converter and PMU(Power Management Unit). The AC-DC converter rectifies the AC signals from vibration devices(PZT). MPPT controller is employed to harvest the maximum power from the PZT and increase efficiency of overall system. The DC-DC boost converter generates a boosted and regulated output at a predefined level and provides energy to load using PMU. A full-wave rectifier using active diodes is used as the AC-DC converter for high efficiency, and a schottky diode type DC-DC boost converter is used for a simple control circuitry. The proposed circuit has been designed in a 0.35um CMOS process. The chip area is $950um{\times}920um$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2018.10a
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• pp.31-34
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• 2018

This paper presents a low-power buck-boost converter for multi-input energy harvesting systems. The designed circuit combines the energy harvested from three input channels in real time and stores it in a storage capacitor. The structure of the buck-boost converter is simplified by using one external inductor and applying time division technique using an arbiter. In addition, to improve the efficiency of the system, the controller circuits of the converter are designed so that current consumption is minimized. The proposed circuit is designed with $0.35{\mu}m$ CMOS process. Simulation results show that the designed circuit consumes up to 490nA of current when all three input channels are active, and the maximum power efficiency is 92%. The chip area of the designed circuit is $1310{\mu}m{\times}1100{\mu}m$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.278-281
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• 2014

This paper presents the performance comparison of three types of full-wave rectifiers for vibration energy harvesting. The first rectifier is consisted of two active diodes and two MOSFETs, and the comparators of the active diodes are powered from the output of the rectifier. The second one is a 2-stage full-wave rectifier. It comprises the basic rectifier consisted of four MOSFETs and an active diode. The comparator is also powered from the output of the rectifier. The third one is an input powered rectifier. It has the same structure as the second rectifier, but the comparator is powered from the input of the rectifier. These rectifiers have been designed using a 0.35um CMOS process and their performances have been compared through simulations. In terms of efficiency, the first rectifier shows the best performance at heavy loads, but the second one is suitable at light loads. When the power consumption during absence of vibration is more important than efficiency, the input-powered rectifier is proper.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2016.10a
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• pp.520-523
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• 2016

This paper describes a DC-DC converter with MPPT control for thermoelectric energy harvesting. The designed circuit converts low voltage harvested from a thermoelectric generator into higher voltage for powering a load. A start-up circuit supplies VDD to a controller, and the controller turns on and off a NMOS switch of a main-boost converter. The converter supplies the boosted voltage to the load through the switch operation. Bulk-driven comparators can do the comparison under low voltage condition and are used for voltage regulation. Also, bulk-driven comparators raise system's efficiency. A peak conversion efficiency of 76% is achieved. The proposed circuit is designed in a 0.35um CMOS technology and its functionality has been verified through simulations. The designed chip occupies $933um{\times}769um$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.267-270
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• 2014

This paper presents a CMOS interface circuit for vibration energy harvesting. The proposed circuit consists of an AC-DC converter and a DC-DC boost converter. The AC-DC converter rectifies the AC signals from vibration devices(PZT), and the DC-DC boost converter generates a boosted and regulated output at a predefined level. A full-wave rectifier using active diodes is used as the AC-DC converter for high efficiency, and a schottky diode type DC-DC boost converter is used for a simple control circuitry. A MPPT(Maximum Power Point Tracking) control is also employed to harvest the maximum power from the PZT. The proposed circuit has been designed in a 0.35um CMOS process. The chip area is $530um{\times}325um$. Simulation results shows that the maximum efficiencies of the AC-DC converter and DC-DC boost converter are 97.7% and 89.2%, respectively. The maximum efficiency of the entire system is 87.2%.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.99-104
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of forward osmosis (FO) system for harvesting microalgae cultivated in secondary sewage effluent. Microalgae species used in this study were chlorella sp. ADE4. The drawing agents used for forward osmosis system were seawater and concentrate of sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) system. Chlorella sp. ADE4 cultured in secondary sewage effluent illustrated moderate efficiency in removal of total nitrogen (TN) (68%) and superior performance in total phosphorus (TP) removal (99%). Comparison of seawater and SWRO concentrate as drawing agent were made in FO membrane separation of the microalgae. The result from this study depicts that SWRO concentrate is strong drawing agent in FO membrane system providing an average dewatering rate of $4.8L/(m^2{\cdot}hr)$ compared to seawater with average dewatering of $2.9L/(m^2{\cdot}hr)$. Results obtained from this study indicated that FO system could be viable option for harvesting the microalgae for further biodiesel production. SWRO concentrate as a drawing agent could be very important finding in field of membrane technology for disposal of SWRO concentrate.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.73-83
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• 1980

The light harvesting pigment proteins of dinoflagellates exhibit essentially 100% efficient energy transfer from carotenoid (peridinin) to chlorophyll a within the antenna pigment complexes. The high efficiency of solar energy harvesing (particularly blue light) for photosynthesis in dinoflagellates is attributable to the unique molecular topography of peridinin and chlorophyll e within the protein crevice. The mechanisms of energy transfer from carotenoids to chlorophyll in higher plants have also been discussed in comparison with the dinoflagellate antenna pigment complexes. As an example of solar energy harvesting, particularly red light, for photosynthesis in algae, the molecular topography and energy transfer in the photosynthetic accessory pigment protein, Chroomonas phycocyanin, have also been discussed.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.373-377
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• 2016

This paper presents a low power boost converter using offset controlled Zero Current Sensor (ZCS) control for thermoelectric energy harvesting.[1] [5] Offset controlled ZCS uses adjustable pre-offset that is controled by 6bit code each connected gate of NMOS for switching. Offset controlled ZCS demonstrates an efficiency that is higher than using analog comparator ZCS and that is smaller area than using delay line ZCS. Experimentally, the offset controlled ZCS system consumes 10 times less power than analog comparator ZCS based system at similar performance.