A low input voltage DC-DC converter with zero current detection circuit and delay-based timing control for thermoelectric energy harvesting

This paper presents a new zero current detection (ZCD) circuit with no static power consumption. Proposed ZCD can be used in low input voltage boost converters such as thermoelectric energy harvesters. Also a delay-based timing system has been proposed. Introduced timing circuit can build independent on/off times which enables different frequency and duty cycle variations. This enables lower switching frequency at light loads and improves efficiency. Proposed system has been designed and simulated in 0.18μm CMOS technology and achieves maximum efficiency of 63%.