Fully integrated boost converter for thermoelectric energy harvesting

In this paper, a full integrated boost converter that allows energy extraction from low voltage thermoelectric generators. The converter uses a 22nH integrated metal-track inductor without external components and provide a 1.1V regulated output voltage from 300mV of input voltage and 45% of maximum efficiency in normal operation. In startup mode, the proposed architecture utilized a dickson charge-pump to pre-charge the output capacitor until control circuit can operate. The presented circuit was simulated and fabricated in 0.18um CMOS tecnology. The core occupies an area of about 0.7mm×0.9mm, without Pads.